LORD CHANCELLOR

Broadband Access (Courts)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what proportion of (a) magistrates' and (b) other courts have broadband access; and what targets have been set for full broadband access in each case.

Yvette Cooper: For (a) magistrates' courts in England and Wales, a high band width, wide area network has been rolled out to nearly 90 per cent. of staff. This roll-out is scheduled to be completed by April 2003, with the exception of one court that is awaiting the completion of a building project. In (b) the Crown Court in England and Wales, 5 per cent. of our court staff currently have access to a high band width, wide area network. We plan to extend such access to all Crown Court staff by April 2006. We are currently considering plans for extending access to the county courts of England and Wales.

Magistrates Courts

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many appeals against closure of magistrates' courts have been dealt with by the Department since 1997; how many were (a) refused and (b) allowed; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The number of appeals on Courthouse closures given to me by my officials is as follows. Since 1996, the Lord Chancellor's Department has received 83 appeals from paying authorities, against determinations made by Magistrates' Courts Committees to close Magistrate's Courts. Details are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year Appeals Decided Allowed Dismissed 
		
		
			 1996 5 0 5 
			 1997 17 2 15 
			 1998 26 1 25 
			 1999 9 1 8 
			 2000 11 1 10 
			 2001 12 0 12 
			 2002 2 0 2 
			 2003 1 0 1

PRIVY COUNCIL

Lord Chancellor (Pension Arrangements)

Norman Baker: To ask the President of the Council if the Lord Chancellor will make it his policy to end the arrangement whereby holders of his office receive pension arrangements which exceed the ceiling for tax relief proposed in the Government's Green Paper on pensions

Robin Cook: The Government is still consulting on its proposals in the recent pensions green paper and associated paper on tax simplification.

E-mail Addresses

Tim Yeo: To ask the President of the Council by what e-mail address members of the public may contact him; and for each e-mail address if he will state (a) the date it became active and (b) the number of e-mails received in each month since activation

Robin Cook: The public may contact me on the following email address: president@pco.x.gsi.gov.uk. Details of how to contact me and Ben Bradshaw are available on the Department's website: www.pco.gov.uk
	This email address has been active since 16 October 2000.
	The department does not record information on the number of emails received into this account.

Online Sales/Purchaes

Tim Yeo: To ask the President of the Council what (a) products, (b) goods and (c) services were bought online by his Department in each of the last five years.

Robin Cook: My Department buys most of its stationery online. Training courses, hotel accommodation and air tickets have on occasion been purchased online in the last five years.

TRANSPORT

Air Transport

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the publication of updated consultation documents for the South East on the future development of air transport in the UK; when this consultation period will end; when a White Paper is expected to be published; and what legislation he expects to emerge following its publication.

David Jamieson: We plan to issue a revised consultation document for the South East, including possible Gatwick options, later this month. The current consultation period throughout the UK will run for a further four months from the date of issue. We expect to announce our conclusions, and any decisions on legislative measures, in a White Paper towards the end of the year.

Car Parking Spaces

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many car parking spaces were provided for (a) himself, (b) Ministers of State, (c) Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State, (d) Special Advisers, (e) departmental officials and (f) contractors in each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 19 November 2002, to the Hon Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) Official Report, column 50W. There are four parking spaces for Ministers' official cars. No spaces are allocated for special advisers or specifically for contractors.

Consultants

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department and its predecessors spent on consultants in each year from 1997.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given today to the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster), UIN 93235.

Consultants

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on by predecessor Departments on external consultants in matters relating to transport in each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: I refer to the hon. Member to my pursuant answer to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 16 January 2003, Official Report, column 698W, on external consultants.

Consultants

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the consultants used, and the nature and the cost of the work in each case.

David Jamieson: A list of the consultants used and the total spend against each has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Details of the nature and cost of the work in each case are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Consultants

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the external consultants used by his Department since its inception; how much each was paid; what the terms of reference for each were; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: holding answer 28 January 2003
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given today to the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster), UIN 9326.

Crossrail

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether the Strategic Rail Authority has sufficient resources within the existing Comprehensive Spending Review settlement to enable the public sector to contribute to construction of Crossrail; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the proposal submitted to him by London Regional Metro for an East-West Rail Link for London is being considered as part of the business case for Crossrail; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Government has already committed 154 million in support of development work on Crossrail.
	It is premature to determine how best Crossrail may be implemented or financed until route options have been considered and a business case for the project established.
	The Strategic Rail Authority and Transport for London are aiming to report to Ministers on these matters by the end of February. Their report is separate from the LRM proposal.

Departmental Consultations

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list consultations his Department has conducted since it was established; and when each consultation (a) opened and (b) closed.

David Jamieson: The Department for Transport was established in May 2002. However, a full list of consultations on transport issues that have taken place from May 2002 (as DfT) and before (as DTLR) can be found on the Department's website (www.dft.gov.uk). DfT consultation documents are available on the relevant policy website link:
	Aviation (www.aviation.dft.gov.uk/conindex.htm)
	Local Transport (www.local-transport.dft.gov.uk/conindex.htm)
	Mobility and Inclusion Unit (www.mobility-unit.dft.gov.uk/conindex.htm)
	Railways (www.railways.dft.gov.uk/conindex.htm )
	Roads, Vehicles and Road Safety (www.roads.dft.gov.uk/conindex.htm)
	Shipping (www.shipping.dft.gov.uk/conindex.htm)
	DfT consultations are also available through the UK Online website, (www. ukonline.gov.uk).
	All these documents follow the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultation (www.consultation.gov.uk), which came into effect on 1 January 2001.

E-mail Addresses

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what e-mail address members of the public may contact (a) him and (b) each of the Ministers in his Department; and for each e-mail address if he will state (i) the date it became active and (ii) the number of e-mails received in each month since activation.

David Jamieson: The information relating to e-mail address for each Minister is shown as follows.
	
		
			 Contact Published e-mail address Activation date 
		
		
			 Secretary of State for Transport alistair.darling@dft.gsi.gov.uk 12 June 2002 
			 Departmental Minister john.spellar@dft.gsi.gov.uk 12 June 2002 
			 Departmental Minister david.jamieson@dft.gsi.gov.uk 12 June 2002 
		
	
	Information about e-mails received monthly could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Local Transport Plan (Leeds)

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the local transport plan budget was for Leeds in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04; what the spending was in 2001–02; whether full spending is likely to be reached in 2002–03; and what action was taken over under-spending.

David Jamieson: The Local Transport Plan capital allocations for Leeds City Council were as follows:
	
		
			  £ million  
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) 2001–02 19.62 
			 (b) 2002–03 26.645 
			 (c) 2003–04 25.823 
		
	
	These figures comprise funding for Integrated Transport, Maintenance and Major Schemes.
	Spending in 2001–02 was £20.898 million.
	The projected outturn figure for 2002–03 is £23.0 million, which represents an underspend of £3.645 million. Some £1.900 million of this relates to the East Leeds Link Road where the start of construction has been delayed due to prolonged negotiations surrounding developers/landowner contributions. However, this funding can be rolled forward into 2003–04 and will be spent then. The remaining £1.745 million underspend relates to Integrated Transport and Maintenance. This cannot be rolled forward into 2003–04 but it is intended that Single Capital Pot flexibilities will be used so that the resource can be made available for transport in future years.
	The Local Transport Capital Settlement letter of 10 December 2002 made clear to local authorities that those failing to deliver would have their indicative allocations reduced in order to free up fimds for better performing authorities.

London Underground PPP

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will publish further letters from his Department on the treatment of revenue shortfalls in the first phase of public-private partnership for the London Underground;
	(2)  what terms of the agreement have been reached between Transport for London, the Mayor of London's transport agency and his Department's officials on the proposed public-private partnership for the London Underground;
	(3)  what recent discussions have taken place between (a) his officials, (b) Transport for London, (c) the Mayor of London's transport agency and (d) Department of Transport officials to finalise arrangements for the proposed public-private partnership for the London Underground; and if he will make a statement on the implications for public finances of the agreement.

David Jamieson: The exchange of letters between My right hon.Friend the Secretary of State and the Mayor, and between officials of the Department and Transport for London, was placed in the Libraries of the House on Tuesday 4 February.
	The level of grant provision for London Underground remains as determined in the 2002 Spending Review. The Government has, however, reiterated its earlier commitments to review grant levels during future Spending Reviews, and in the event of major unforeseen circumstances.

Rail Freight

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the existing rail freight links between the North of England and the Continent.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority's strategic plan, published on 30 January, explains its priorities including those for freight. The Government published a report on its targets and progress in meeting them in relation to the 10-year plan on 17 December 2002. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Rail Services

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what services (a) in the north west and (b) in the UK as a whole will be cut under proposals announced by the Strategic Rail Authority.

David Jamieson: I understand from the Strategic Rail Authority that in the UK as a whole 104 services per day will be withdrawn, out of a total of about 17,000 per day. 44 of these operate in the north west; 12 are Virgin Crosscountry services between Birmingham and Blackpool and 32 are Central Trains services between Manchester airport and Crewe. Services on a number of other routes will be reduced. Virgin Crosscountry routes affected are between Birmingham and Cardiff, Poole, Swansea and Swindon, and the non-CrossCountry routes where services will be reduced are Oxford to Bristol, Southampton to Bournemouth, and Derby to Birmingham.

Road Tax

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles qualified for 25-year road tax exemption discs in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001.

David Jamieson: The 25 Year Exempt taxation class was replaced by the Historic Vehicle taxation class in March 1998. This class applies to vehicles constructed before 1 January 1973. The number of vehicles licensed under the Historic Vehicle class for the years in question is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Year Number of licensed vehicles (Exempt Historic vehicle class) 
		
		
			 1999 353,543 
			 2000 339,996 
			 2001 328,072

Road Traffic Accidents

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents have been recorded on the A14 between Stowmarket and Bury St. Edmunds in (a) 2000–01 (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002– February 2003.

David Jamieson: The following table shows the recorded number of accidents along the A14 between Stowmarket and Bury St. Edmunds, in 2000 and in 2001. Figures for 2002 are not yet available.
	
		
			 Year Total 
		
		
			 2000 37 
			 2001 34

Unlicensed Vehicles

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been prosecuted in the London Borough of Harrow for having an unlicensed vehicle in each of the last five years.

David Jamieson: Specific figures are not available for the London Borough of Harrow but the number of cases successfully prosecuted by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's local office at Stanmore (which includes that Harrow area) were as follows (records were kept centrally before 2000–01):
	
		
			 Year Prosecutions 
		
		
			 2000–01 16,423 
			 2001–02 17,325 
			 2002–03(1) 16.297 
		
	
	(1) January
	Many other unlicensed vehicle cases were settled out of court by payment of a penalty. Figures are only available for the whole of the London district:
	
		
			 Year  
		
		
			 2000–01 39,932 
			 2001–02 42,190 
			 2002–03(2) 32,442 
		
	
	(2) Denotes nine months to January only.

DEFENCE

Al Yamamah Deal

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the report on the Al Yamamah deal with Saudi Arabia will be published.

Adam Ingram: I assume the question refers to the 1992 National Audit Office report about the Al Yamamah programme. The report refers to confidential arrangements between the Governments of the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia on a programme which is of great significance for British jobs and exports. The report has not been published because publication would breach that pledge of confidentiality; the report has therefore been withheld under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Airborne Stand-off Radar Programme

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the airborne stand-off radar programme to be completed.

Adam Ingram: The acquisition phase of the ASTOR programme is due to complete in 2008, when the fifth ASTOR system enters service. The contract with Raytheon Systems Ltd also provides for contractor logistic support until 2015. On current plans ASTOR will remain in service until 2035.

Anti-tank Weapon

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he expects the new anti-tank weapon to enter service on time and within the Ministry of Defence's proposed budget.

Adam Ingram: Yes. The light forces anti-tank guided weapon system is expected to enter service in 2006 within its approved cost and timescale.

Armed Forces (Statistics)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people there were in the UK (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) Air Force in each year from 1996–97 to 2003–04 (planned).

Lewis Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to table 2.8 of the United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2002, which provides historic information up to April 2002.
	Each Service sets manpower requirements at the level required to deliver the capabilities needed to meet their endorsed requirements. The requirements, and the performance in meeting them, are reported by the Defence Analytical Services Agency, both annually in United Kingdom Defence Statistics and quarterly under National Statistics arrangements. Copies of these can be found in the Library of the House.

Armed Small Craft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to increase the numbers of armed small craft in the Royal Navy.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 329W.

Britannia

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total sale proceeds have been from the disposal of Her Majesty's yacht Britannia; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: A contract for the sale of the former HMY BRITANNIA was let by the Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency (DSA) (then the Disposal Sales Agency) in 1998. I am withholding the information requested in accordance with Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Capita

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer of 9 January, Official Report, column 60W, on Capita, if he will give (a) the value, (b) a brief description and (c) the length of each contract.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 February 2003
	
		Capita Business Services Ltd
		
			  
		
		
			 MSC5–07998 Consultancy Service 
			  Duration: October 2000 to February 2003 
			 ABRO1A/0112 Consultancy for Staff Recruitment 
			  Duration: Contract placed March 2000 and now complete. 
			 CBC-2B-0139 Consultancy for Staff Recruitment Duration: May 2002 to March 2003 
			 CP21B-1178 Management Consultancy Services 
			  Duration: December 1997 to December 2002 
		
	
	
		Capita Group plc
		
			  
		
		
			 CPPF1–102–14 Management Consultancy Services 
			  Duration: January 1997 to January 2002 
		
	
	
		Capita RAS Ltd
		
			  
		
		
			 CBC-2B-0003 Consultancy for Staff Recruitment 
			  Duration: December 1998 to March 2002 
			 CP21A-1411 Consultancy for Staff Recruitment 
			  Duration: Contract placed April 2001 and now complete 
			 CP21B-1249 Consultancy for Staff Recruitment 
			  Duration: December 1998 to December 2001 
		
	
	
		Capita Property Services Ltd
		
			  
		
		
			 DABMSC-10851 Subsumed into WS35–806 
		
	
	
		Capita Property Consultancy
		
			  
		
		
			 WS35–806 Project management Services 
			  Duration: Contract placed May 1992 and now complete 
		
	
	The values of individual contracts are withheld under Exemption 13 of the Code of practice on Access to Government Information but the total value of these contracts is approximately £1.8 million.

Defence Finance

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much unallocated funds there were in financial years (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05 under the headings of (i) operations, (ii) personnel, (iii) logistics, (iv) procurement, (v) central, (vi) war pensions and allowances, (vii) Armed Forces Retired Pay and Pensions and (viii) unprogrammed operations/conflict prevention; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: In the current financial year, there are no defence funds that are not allocated to budget holders. For the years 2003–04 and 2004–05, the Spending Review settlement included a small non-cash unallocated provision to deal with certain non-cash pressures.

Defence Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the share of the defence budget accounted for by (a) procurement costs and (b) personnel costs in each year from 1982–83 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Figures for the share of Ministry of Defence expenditure attributed to defence equipment procurement costs for the years 1982–83 to 2000–01 and personnel costs for the years 1982–83 to 2002–03 are presented in the following table.
	Comparable data for equipment procurement expenditure are not available beyond 2000–01 following the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting. However, data for personnel costs are available for 2001–02 and 2002–03 on a resource basis.
	The figures are shown for each year as a percentage share of total defence expenditure. Equipment Procurement and personnel expenditure figures for the years up to, and including 2000–01 are published by the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) in UK Defence Statistics and pre-1992 were reported in Volume 2 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates (both of these are available in the Library of the House). The most recent resource based personnel figures for 2001–02 have been extracted from the MOD Departmental Resource Accounts (DRAc). For 2002–03, the planned outturn has been extracted from MOD Winter Supplementary Estimates.
	
		Ministry of Defence equipment procurement and personnel expenditure as a percentage of total MOD expenditure: 1982–83 to 2002–03
		
			 Year Equipment procurement costs as percentage of total defence expenditure(3) Personnel costs(4) as percentage of total defence expenditure(3) 
		
		
			 1982–83 47 38 
			 1983–84 48 37 
			 1984–85 50 35 
			 1985–86 50 36 
			 1986–87 48 38 
			 1987–88 49 38 
			 1988–89 47 40 
			 1989–90 46 39 
			 1990–91 44 40 
			 1991–92 44 40 
			 1992–93 42 44 
			 1993–94 42 42 
			 1994–95 42 41 
			 1995–96 42 40 
			 1996–97 43 39 
			 1997–98 45 40 
			 1998–99 46 38 
			 1999–2000 45 38 
			 2000–01 44 37 
			 2001–02 n/a 40 
			 2002–03 n/a 39 
		
	
	(3) "Total Defence Expenditure" represents Departmental Expenditure in "cash" and from 2001–02 in "near cash" terms. It differs slightly from the "Adjusted Defence Budget" which excludes a variety of accounting and definitional adjustments as outlined in the footnotes to table 1.3 of UK Defence Statistics.
	(4) The figure for "personnel costs" used as the basis for the percentage share, up to and including 2000–01 is the expenditure in "cash" terms as published in UKDS 2002 Table 1.3. For 2001–02 data have been extracted from the MOD Departmental Resource Accounts (DRAc). For 2002–03 data have been extracted from the MOD Winter Supplementary Estimates. Data for 2002–03 are the planned outturn. Personnel costs include Service and Civilian pay, other allowances and ERNIC contribution.
	Source
	UK Defence Statistics and Volume 2 of Statement on the Defence Estimates

Defence Industries (French Market Access)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made since 14 October 2002 in securing better market access for UK companies in France.

Adam Ingram: Ministry of Defence support for defence companies seeking markets in France, and elsewhere, is available through the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO). DESO provides advice and assistance tailored to individual market opportunities. Additionally, in 2003, MOD is supporting a number of opportunities for United Kingdom companies to engage with potential markets in France and listed below are major events in the UK and France at which British and French industry will be represented.
	
		
			 Date Event Location 
		
		
			 13 March 2003 Small and Medium Sized Enterprises "Shop Window" UK 
			 14–18 May 2003 EUROSEM 03 France 
			 15–22 June 2003 Paris Airshow France 
			 17–21 June 2003 Eurosatory France 
			 21–25 October 2003 Euronaval France

Defence Spending

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of procurement expenditure of his Department in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms in each year since 1980–81; and what his estimate is of procurement expenditure as a percentage of total spending in each year since 1980–81.

Adam Ingram: Figures for the amount the Ministry of Defence spends on defence equipment procurement for the years 1980–81 to 2000–01 are presented in the table below. The figures are shown for each year in (a) cash terms, (b) real terms and (c) as a percentage of total defence expenditure. Equipment Procurement figures are published by the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) in the United Kingdom Defence Statistics and pre- 1992 were reported in Volume 2 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates (both of these are available in the Library of the House). Comparable data beyond 2000–01 are not available following the introduction of Resource Accounting & Budgeting.
	
		Ministry of Defence equipment procurement expenditure in cash and real terms and as a percentage of total MOD expenditure: 1980–81—2000–01
		
			 Year Equipment procurement cash terms(£ millions) Equipment procurement real terms (5) at 2001–02 prices (£ millions) Percentage of total defence expenditure(6) 
		
		
			 1980–81 5,324 13,315 48 
			 1981–82 6,121 13,979 49 
			 1982–83 6,815 14,552 47 
			 1983–84 7,504 15,335 48 
			 1984–85 8,573 16,643 50 
			 1985–86 8,978 16,527 50 
			 1986–87 8,726 15,557 48 
			 1987–88 9,146 15,467 49 
			 1988–89 8,902 14,095 47 
			 1989–90 9,527 14,077 46 
			 1990–91 9,863 13,519 44 
			 1991–92 10,842 14,007 44 
			 1992–93 9,872 12,354 42 
			 1993–94 9,781 11,945 42 
			 1994–95 9,415 11,347 42 
			 1995–96 8,937 10,473 42 
			 1996–97 9,494 10,783 43 
			 1997–98 9,373 10,327 45 
			 1998–99 10,281 11,025 46 
			 1999–2000 10,094 10,569 45 
			 2000–01 10,408 10,654 44 
		
	
	Notes:
	(5) Adjusted using HM Treasury Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator at market prices as at 23 December 2002
	(6) "Total Defence Expenditure" excludes a variety of accounting and definitional adjustments as outlined in the footnotes to table 1.3 of UK Defence Statistics and are consistent with the figures shown in the "Total Defence Expenditure" category in that table.
	Source:UK Defence Statistics and Volume 2 of Statement of Defence Estimates.

Eurofighter

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 27 January, Official Report, column 638W, on the Eurofighter, what criteria were used in selecting areas for the testing of Eurofighter.

Adam Ingram: The three managed areas designated for the training of fast jet crews were selected on the basis that they were sufficiently large to enable training at high speeds, were relatively close to operating bases, and minimised the effect on civilair routes.
	It is anticipated that the majority of supersonic flights will take place over the sea in the two more southerly areas. The third most northerly area is essential for backup training, particularly when sea and wind states are determined to be too high for safe training over the water. Supersonic flight will not be permitted over land.

Eurofighter Typhoon

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Eurofighter Typhoon to be operational and at what stage ground strike capability will be added.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 February 2003
	We expect Typhoon to be available for operational deployment in the second half of this decade. The aircraft will be multi-role. Designed primarily for air superiority, it will be fitted with an initial ground attack capability. Thereafter, it will benefit from progressive enhancements to its ground attack capabilities as part of the aircraft's planned procurement programme.

Field Hospitals

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) anaesthetists, (b) doctors, (c) surgeons, (d) trained nurses and (e) commissioned nurses there are in each reserve field hospital unit.

Lewis Moonie: The strength of (a) anaesthetists, (b) doctors, (c) surgeons and (d) commissioned nurses within each reserve field hospital, as at February 2003, is given in the table. There are no other rank trained nurses in reserve field hospitals.
	
		
			 Field hospital 201 202 203 204 205 207 208 212 243 256 CVHQAMS 
		
		
			  
			 Number of anaesthetists 5 2 2 1 1 2 2 4 2 6 12 
			 Number of doctors 23 22 13 14 16 7 15 20 9 20 11 
			 Number of surgeons 4 4 2 2 3 0 1 7 4 4 20 
			 Number of commissioned nurses 119 112 62 58 95 70 104 90 66 86 147

Flags of Convenience

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ships chartered for military operations are registered under flags of convenience.

Adam Ingram: The definition of flag of convenience is loose and ambiguous and indeed, the Department for Transport does not officially recognise this terminology. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 February 2003, Official Report, column 464W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Prosser), regarding the flag states of the vessels chartered for use in the Mediterranean/Gulf regions.

Future Integrated Soldier Technology Programme

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what criteria will inform his decision on selection of the prime contractor for the Future Integrated Soldier Technology programme, with particular reference to (a) price and (b) technical specification;
	(2)  when he plans to announce selection of the prime contractor for the Future Integrated Soldier Technology programme; and whether the Future Integrated Soldier Technology programme will be the centrepiece of infantrymen's personal combat equipment in the future;
	(3)  if he will take the value of export opportunities for British businesses into account in his assessment of the relative merits of the competing contractors for the Future Integrated Soldier Technology programme;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the potential value of the export market for Future Integrated Soldier Technology equipment systems and sub-systems over the next 20 years;
	(5)  what the value is of (a) the next assessment phase and (b) the demonstration and manufacture phases of the Future Integrated Soldier Technology programme.

Adam Ingram: The Future Integrated Soldier Technology (FIST) programme will bring the benefits of technology improvements to the infantry soldier by providing an integrated suite of equipment which will enhance mission effectiveness in dismounted close combat. An announcement on the Prime Contractor for the Assessment Phase (AP) of the FIST programme will be made shortly.
	Expenditure of up to £30 million is anticipated during AP. Demonstration and Manufacture costs are expected to be up to around £800 million dependent on the precise configuration of the suite of equipment identified during the AP. The cost and scope of work to be performed will be more closely defined during the AP.
	Evaluation of the competing proposals will be based on a number of criteria. Both bids are based on the same level of funding in the AP so price will not be a discriminator, and technical specifications will only be developed as a product from the AP. Selection will be informed by assessments of the bidders' planning and scheduling proposals, their proposals on technology exploitation during AP, their preparedness to engage in effective partnering arrangements, and their acceptance of contractual terms and conditions.
	Wider factors, consistent with our Defence Industrial Policy will also be considered including potential export value to the United Kingdom defence industrial base. Current analysis of the potential export market suggests opportunities in the region of £3 billion over 15 years.

Gas Masks

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Service personnel have been supplied with gas mask filters that are out of date; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: To the best of our knowledge, no Service personnel have been issued with gas mask filters which are out of date, and no defect reports have been received from units about either respirators or respirator filters. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 11 February 2003, Official Report, column 633W.

HMS Nottingham

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 28 January 2003, Official Report, column 747W, on HMS Nottingham, what changes to current departmental expenditure commitments he plans to make.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 February 2003, Official Report, column 635W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey).

Landing Ship Dock Auxiliary Vessels

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects construction to be completed on the new Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) vessels (LSD (A)).

Adam Ingram: Construction of the first Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary), RFA LARGS BAY, is due to complete in March 2004. The vessel will then undergo a series of sea trials prior to its acceptance into service in autumn 2004. Construction of the remaining three vessels is planned to complete during 2004 and 2005, followed by sea trials and acceptance into service.

Medical Discharge (RAF)

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what circumstances an RAF employee can be asked to forfeit his entitlement to medical discharge.

Lewis Moonie: RAF Personnel do not have an entitlement, either statutory or regulational, to medical discharge.
	The discharge of personnel below the minimum Royal Air Force medicalstandard is decided at the Personnel Management Agency, following consideration of an individual's case by a Medical Board. The individual is invited to provide a personal statement as part of this process.

Merlin Helicopter

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Merlin helicopters are grounded in order to provide spare parts for operational Merlin helicopters.

Adam Ingram: The term 'grounded' is normally used only when a whole fleet or mark of aircraft is identified as unsafe to fly because of specific serious engineering or airworthiness problems which call into question the safety of the aircraft type. No Merlin helicopters are being used to provide spares for operational aircraft.

Middle East (Equipment Suitability)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the (a) quality and (b) suitability for the climate and conditions of the equipment supplied to army personnel in preparation for deployment to the middle east.

Adam Ingram: All our troops are provided with personal equipment that is right for the operation to be undertaken. The clothing, boots and other personal equipment that is provided to each soldier has been tested, and procured to a high quality and reliability standard. The views of soldiers are taken into account during this process. We hold stocks of all types of personal equipment for the variety of operations that might occur but, because it is not sensible to tie up assets for all contingencies, these basic stocks are supplemented as operations become better defined. Adequate stocks of desert equipment for Army personnel will be available for Operation Telic.

Naval Complement

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels available for sale to foreign navies.

Adam Ingram: The only Royal Navy vessel available for sale at present to foreign Governments is HMS Sheffield. There are no Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels available for sale to foreign navies at present.

Naval Complement

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to order (a) a primary casualty receiving ship for the Royal Navy and (b) additional tankers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary services.

Adam Ingram: Initial Gate approval for procurement of a Primary Casualty Receiving Capability (PCRC) was granted on 20 December 2001. A contract was awarded to BMT Defence Services on 21 December 2001 for support in determining the size and shape of an afloat medical facility that would meet our needs and to establish which ship types could potentially become host platforms. In parallel, the PCRC Integrated Project Team (IPT) is considering which procurement options are likely to prove most cost effective. It is anticipated that tendering for the demonstration and manufacture phase of the project should take place during 2003–04. The In Service Date will depend upon the final technical specification and procurement route selected but should be towards the end of the decade.
	Following the expected entry into service of the Auxiliary Oilers RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler, which should occur in early spring this year, we plan to acquire future afloat support capability, including that currently provided by Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, as part of our larger afloat support strategy.
	Currently, the Defence Procurement Agency's Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) project is investigating these future afloat support needs and the most flexible and cost-effective means of meeting them. Although the programme is at an early stage, initial reactions have been received following an industry day, which was held in October 2002, and we will be seeking innovative and cost effective proposals from industry as it progresses.

Nuclear-Powered Submarines

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the eventual disposal of the hulks of paid-off SSNs and former Polaris submarines.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 December 2002, Official Report, column 423W by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Moonie). Since then approval has been given for the Isolus project to enter an assessment phase, and we are now seeking outline proposals from industry for the interim storage of radioactive material from the decommissioned submarines. Over 30 companies have expressed an interest in the work and an industry briefing day is to be held in late February.

Nuclear-Powered Submarines

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the locations of each paid-off SSN and former Polaris submarine.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Moonie) on 12 December 2002, Official Report, column 423W. In addition, HMS Dreadnought, the former Polaris submarine that was decommissioned in 1983 is stored safely afloat at the Rosyth Dockyard.

Ptarmigan

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the completion of the Ptarmigan upgrades.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is committed to sustaining the Ptarmigan trunk communication system for land forces and continues to keep the system available at high readiness for any potential operations. To enable Ptarmigan to cope with increasing demands placed on it, two planned enhancements were completed in 2002. One will enable Ptarmigan to connect to future systems such as Bowman. The other allows more rapid and flexible deployment of some of the more mobile components of Ptarmigan. We are currently making minor modifications to the Ptarmigan system to enable it to be used more effectively in the context of potential operations. I am withholding specific details under Exemption 1 (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Royal Air Force

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when 5 Squadron will be disbanded; and to which squadrons 5 Squadron personnel will be re-assigned.

Adam Ingram: 5 Squadron disbanded on 30 September 2002. Personnel were assigned to the following Squadrons:
	1 Squadron Cottesmore;
	3 Squadron Cottesmore;
	4 Squadron Cottesmore;
	9 Squadron Marham;
	11 Squadron Leeming;
	20 Squadron Wittering;
	25 Squadron Leeming;
	31 Squadron Marham;
	43 Squadron Leuchars;
	54 Squadron Coltishall;
	56 Squadron Coningsby/Leuchars;
	111 Squadron Leuchars;
	230 Squadron Aldergrove; and
	617 Squadron Lossiemouth.
	In addition, some personnel were not assigned to a new Squadron but were posted to other branches and headquarters in the Ministry of Defence.

SA80/L86A2 Weapons

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many SA80 L86A2 weapons will be withdrawn from operational service following the introduction into service of the new light machine gun; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: No SA80 L86A2 weapons will be withdrawn from operational service following the introduction into service of the new light machine gun.

Satellite Communications Systems

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on satellite communications systems; and what increases he plans to these capabilities.

Adam Ingram: Military satellite communications are currently provided by the SKYNET 4 system, supplemented as necessary by commercial satellite systems and the use of satellite communications systems operated by Allies. SKYNET 4 will reach the end of its operationally useful life later this decade and we are seeking to continue and update our capability through the SKYNET 5 service provision contract currently being negotiated with Paradigm Secure Communications. The SKYNET 5 contract will include modernisation of satellite ground terminals.
	We expect SKYNET 5 to introduce, from the middle of the decade, enhanced voice and data services with better resilience together with improved flexibility to support remote, mobile operations. It will make an important contribution to our aim of developing network enabled capability. The improvements will be introduced progressively and support to existing systems will be maintained as required during transition to SKYNET 5.

Sea King Helicopters

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the planned disposal of seven Sea King MK6 helicopters.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 5 December 2002, Official Report, column 933W. One Sea King Mk 6 helicopter has been designated as scrap. No final decision has yet been made concerning plans for six other Sea King Mk 6 helicopters.

Target Locator Systems

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when he expects the laser target locator systems to enter service (a) with the Royal Artillery forward observers and (b) as part of the enhancements to the Warrior armoured infantry fighting vehicle and the CVR(T) reconnaissance fleets;
	(2)  when he expects the new laser rangefinders to enter service; and if they will be within the Ministry of Defence's estimated budget.

Adam Ingram: The laser target locator systems for Royal Artillery (RA) forward observers are expected to enter service by the end of March 2003. This system is intended to be operated whilst the observer is dismounted. The equipment will be issued to RA forward observers operating from Warrior OPV, Saxon or in the dismounted role. The project is within the estimated budget.
	The separate programme providing laser target locator systems as part of the enhancement of the Warrior Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle and CVR(T) reconnaissance fleets, will be rolled out between 2004 and 2006. The RA variant of Warrior and some Scimitar CVR(T) vehicles already have this capability. This project is also within the estimated budget.

Territorial Army

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Territorial Army centres in Lancashire are providing reservists to UK forces; and how many reservists from the Territorial Army Centre in Chorley have been called to join UK forces.

Lewis Moonie: The following Territorial Army Centres in Lancashire are providing reservists as a result of recent mobilisation orders:
	
		
			 Territorial army centre Location 
		
		
			 B Company, Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers Moss street, Blackburn 
			 B Squadron, 207 Field Hospital (Volunteers) Canterbury street, Blackburn 
			 Detachment C Squadron, 208 Field Hospital (Volunteers) Caton road, Lancaster 
			 Detachment E (14) Evacuation Squadron, 5 GS Medical Regiment Devonshire road, Chorley, Preston 
			 Detachment 29 Company, 3 (Volunteer) Military Intelligence Battalion Devonshire road, Chorley, Preston 
		
	
	As at Friday 7 February, the following numbers of reservists from the Territorial Army Centre at Chorley have been called up for mobilisation:
	
		
			 Territorial army centre Number of reservists 
		
		
			 Detachment E (14) Evacuation Squadron, 5 GS Medical Regiment 14 
			 Detachment 29 Company, 3 (Volunteer) Military Intelligence Battalion 6

Typhoon (Meteor Missile)

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what interim measures have been put in place in advance of the air defence Meteor missile entering service with the Typhoon fighters;
	(2)  when he expects the new air defence Meteor missile to enter service with the Typhoon fighters.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence intends to procure the Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile from the USA to equip Typhoon until Meteor enters service in 2012.

Wheeled Tanker

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the new wheeled tankers for the armed forces to enter service; and if he expects this to remain within the Ministry of Defence's proposed budget.

Adam Ingram: The wheeled tankers are expected to enter service in 2004 within the approved cost and timescale.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

British Energy

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid to consultants engaged by her Department to assess the financial situation of British Energy; and if she will list the consultants engaged to conduct this work since September 2002.

Brian Wilson: At end-January 2003, the Department had been invoiced for or paid around £9.8 million to its advisers in respect of their work on the financial situation of British Energy. The Department has engaged the following advisers:
	Credit Suisse First Boston—financial adviser
	Deloitte and Touche—accountancy adviser
	Slaughter and May—legal adviser
	McGrigor Donald—Scottish legal adviser
	Stikeman Elliott—Canadian legal adviser
	Crowell Moring—US legal adviser
	Mr Christopher Knight—independent financial adviser

Chemical Sales (Israel)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which chemicals with potential military and civil dual-use capabilities the United Kingdom has licensed for sale to Israel; and what steps have been taken to ensure these chemicals have not been put to military use.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 10 February 2003
	Details of all export licences are published by destination in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls; copies of which are available from the Libraries of the House.
	The Government has made clear its commitment to effective monitoring of the end-use of UK defence exports where this can make a genuine contribution to preventing their diversion or misuse. However, follow-up monitoring can only confirm if UK exports have been misused or diverted after the export has taken place. The Government believes that the most effective way to prevent misuse or diversion of UK defence exports is by rigorous assessment at the export licensing stage. To this end we have taken a number of steps to strengthen end-user risk assessment in the export licensing process. Before taking a decision on an export licence application, the Government takes into account all reliable information about end-users of potential concern, including reporting from other Government Departments and UK posts overseas, and also from any relevant information received from non-governmental organisations and other external sources. Overseas posts have standing instructions to report any misuse of UK-origin defence equipment so that it can be taken into account in the licensing process.

Coal Reserves

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates she has made of the total coal reserves available in the (a) United Kingdom and (b) Wales.

Brian Wilson: The Coal Authority has (in consultation with the industry) estimated that established reserves workable by either opencast or deep-mining methods in Britain total some 222 million tonnes with a further known potential of 380 million tonnes. The extent to which thee tonnages are available is influenced by a range of factors, not least operators' ability to mine the coal safely and economically and to secure the necessary consents to do so. No separate figures are available for Wales.
	In addition, the Department recently commissioned a report which examined coal reserves and resources accessible from remaining deep mines (excluding the Selby Complex scheduled to close in March 2004). Total reserve and resources was estimated to be in the order of 150m tonnes, 14m tonnes of which is in Wales. The report, produced by IMC Group Consulting Limited, is shortly to be published on the DTI Website.

Financial Reporting Council

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on responsibility for the appointment of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council.

Patricia Hewitt: The constitution of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) provides that the Chairman and Deputy Chairmen of the FRC are appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Governor of the Bank of England acting jointly.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she intends to take against the companies listed in the Iraqi submission to the United Nations Security Council in its weapons programmes, as military equipment and services suppliers to Iraq.

Brian Wilson: Any listing in the Iraqi submission would not in itself imply there has been a breach of UK export controls. Any allegations that there has been a breach of UK export controls would require careful examination by HM Customs and Excise, which is responsible for the enforcement of UK export controls.

Mains Gas Network

Matthew Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to extend the national mains gas network.

Brian Wilson: The Government has encouraged the development of the mains gas network by stimulating competition and reducing connection costs. It continues to work with industry and other interested parties to seek ways in which to assist the fuel poor in non-gas areas.

Miners' Compensation

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the miners' respiratory compensation settlements are for chronic bronchitis only; how many cases that have been settled have been paid; and how many claims registered in (a) 1998 and (b) 1999 (i) have been finalised and (ii) are outstanding.

Brian Wilson: As of 2 February 2003, IRISC, the Department's claims handlers, had made over 28,000 full and finals offers for chronic bronchitis only, this out of a total of nearly 58,500 full and final offers. Nearly 23,000 chronic bronchitis only offers have been accepted and have received payment in settlement of their claim, and around 5,000 offers remain under consideration with solicitors.
	In 1998 IRISC registered nearly 53,500 claims for respiratory disease. As at 29 January 2003, 22,800 had been settled in full.
	In 1999 IRISC registered nearly 29,500 claims for respiratory disease. As at 29 January 2003, 10,704 had been settled in full.
	Claims are processed in order of priority points, as set out in the Claims Handling Agreement, not by date of claim.

Miners' Pension Fund

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of the Miners' Pension Fund was in each year since the year before it was supported by Government finance, to 2003; and what bonuses have been paid out in each of these years.

Brian Wilson: The market value of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme fund as at 30 September for each year since 1993, is as follows:
	
		£million
		
			 Year Market Value of Fund 
		
		
			 1993 7,528 
			 1994 7,763 
			 1995 8,582 
			 1996 9,389 
			 1997 10,988 
			 1998 10,394 
			 1999 12,423 
			 2000 14,220 
			 2001 11,521 
			 2002 9,774 
		
	
	Bonuses under the arrangements introduced at privatisation first became payable in 1997 and are as follows:
	
		£million
		
			 Year Bonus Payments made 
		
		
			 1997 23 
			 1998 69 
			 1999 76 
			 2000 82 
			 2001 119 
			 2002 127

OECD Bribery Convention

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the policy of the Department is on incorporation of the OECD Convention on Bribery; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: The Government is fully supportive of this Convention and views it as a minimum standard to be attained.
	In February 2002 the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security (ATCS) Act came into effect. Part 12 of the Act puts beyond doubt that the law of bribery applies to acts involving foreign office holders, including Ministers, MPs and judges, and takes jurisdiction over crimes of bribery committed by UK nationals and UK companies overseas. Previously some part of the offence had to take place in the UK.
	The measures outlaw acts of bribery by UK nationals and companies abroad in the same circumstances as they are outlawed at home. This extraterritoriality goes beyond the specific requirements of the OECD Convention and demonstrates the seriousness of the Government's commitment to reduce bribery in international business.

Plutonium

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the risk of terrorists (a) intercepting and (b) stealing plutonium in transit by sea from Sellafield to (i) Japan, (ii) European Union member states and (iii) Switzerland.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 10 February 2002
	The Department of Trade and Industry's Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is responsible for regulating civil nuclear security in the UK including security of transport of nuclear material. The security standards, procedures and specific arrangements reflect published guidance issued by the IAEA. Security precautions for the transportation of nuclear material are kept under regular review. However, it is not Government policy to disclose details of security measures taken in connection with the transportation of nuclear material.
	In respect of transports of MOX, OCNS has confirmed that the extensive security arrangements in place both for transports of MOX carried out between the UK and countries in Europe and those undertaken by UK operators between Europe and Japan are amply robust to deal with any potential threats. This matter has been reviewed in the context of the terrorist attacks that took place in September 2001 and the circumstances arising since then.

Roof Contracting Industry (Insurance Cover)

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions officials from her Department have had with representatives of the roof contracting industry regarding the availability of insurance cover; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: A number of meetings have taken place at official level with representatives of the roofing contractors industry and other construction industry sectors about the availability of insurance cover.
	A study is being undertaken by the Construction Sector Unit to establish the extent and nature of the difficulties contractors face in obtaining a range of different types of insurance; to obtain a clearer understanding of the reasons for the problems; and how the industry could better represent its approach to risk assessment, management and control to the insurance industry. The National Federation of Roofing Contractors has participated in this study.
	The Government is also keen to have the views of all affected industries, including building, construction and roofing, on the review of the Employer's Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) scheme.All written contributions should be sent to: ELCI Review Team, Department of Work and Pensions, The Adelphi, Level 2, 1- 11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT or by e-mail to bob.elam@xlwp.gsi.gov.uk

Small Businesses

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her Answer of 8th January, Official Report, column 248W, on small retail businesses, how many enterprises there are in the UK of all sizes.

Brian Wilson: In the UK at the start of 2001 there were an estimated 3,746,370 businesses in the private sector and public corporations.

Wind Farms

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) off-shore and (b) land-based wind farm projects are under construction; and what the expected completion dates are.

Brian Wilson: The Government does not require developers to inform us of when a project will commence construction or when construction is completed. The Government therefore has no details of how many wind farms are under construction or when they will be completed.

TREASURY

AADs

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many accompanying administrative documents AADs for duty-suspended excise goods were in circulation in each year from 1998 to 2002; how many were outstanding in each year from 1998 to 2002; and how many undischarged AADs there are against which assessments have been raised.

John Healey: The information on the number of accompanying administrative documents is not available. The information on assessments issued against outstanding AADs is not held centrally by Customs and could only be collected at disproportionate cost.

Corporation Tax

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the effect of a 2 per cent. reduction in the rate of corporation tax would be on tax revenue.

Dawn Primarolo: Table 5 of the "Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs November 2002" shows the direct effects of percentage point changes in each of the starting rate, the small companies' rate and the main rate of corporation tax.

Customs and Excise

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who owns the Customs and Excise headquarters at Custom House, Lower Thames Street, London; how many staff work there and what work they are engaged in; what his estimate is of the market value of the building; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: For details of ownership of Custom House, London I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby on 7 November 2002, Official Report, column 746–50W.
	In June 2000 Customs & Excise's valuers estimated the Market Value of Custom House, London at £26.75 million. 850 law enforcement staff work in the building. No details can be given of the work they are engaged in; Exemption 4 (Law enforcement and legal proceedings) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

Customs and Excise

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of Customs and Excise's National Investigation Service are suspended pending criminal investigations.

John Healey: On 1 April 2001 HM Customs and Excise implemented a fundamental restructuring along functional lines creating two core businesses: Business Services and Taxes and Law Enforcement. The National Investigation Service is now part of the Law Enforcement structure. At 12 February 2003 six Officers from the investigation arm of Law Enforcement are suspended pending criminal investigations. All involve allegations of potential gross misconduct, which if proved may result in dismissal.

Duty Diversion Fraud

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated total loss in excise duty due to diversion fraud including frauds not actually investigated is for each year from 1993 to 2002.

John Healey: Figures are not available in this format for all years. Diversion fraud in the main concerns alcohol products. Estimates of total losses for outward diversion fraud for alcohol in the years 1994–1995 to 1999–2000 were published in the report by John Roques, "The collection of excise duties in HM Customs and Excise", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	Estimates for total revenue evaded from all alcohol fraud (including diversion frauds) in the years 1999–2000 and 2000–01 are provided in the HM Customs and Excise document "Measuring indirect tax losses" published with the pre Budget report November 2002, a copy of which is also available in the Library of the House.

ECOFIN

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the minutes of the meetings of ECOFIN and its associated committees which (a) he and (b) officials from his Department have attended since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: Minutes of ECOFIN meetings are published on the website of the Council of the European Union: http://register.consilium.eu.int/isoregister/frames/intromnfsEN.htm.
	Press notices are accessible at: http://ue.eu.int/newsroom/loadbook.asp?BID=93&LANG=1.
	The Treasury Ministers report by written answer on the issues discussed at the ECOFIN meetings and on the position taken by the United Kingdom.
	The minutes of ECOFIN's associated committees, (the Economic and Financial Committee and the Economic Policy Committee) attended by senior Treasury officials, are not published.

FTSE 100

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact of the fall in the value of the FTSE 100 index on (a) total tax revenues, (b) income tax revenue and (c) corporation tax revenue.

Ruth Kelly: Consistent with the Code for fiscal stability, an update of projections for the public finances taking into account the effects of changes in share prices will be published in the forthcoming Budget.

Greener Fuels

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the incentives he has applied to encourage the use of greener fuels are intended to be permanent.

John Healey: In Budget 2001, the Government reduced the duty rate on road fuel gases to 9p per kilogramme and made a commitment to freeze duty on road fuel gases in real terms until at least 2004.
	All other duty rates are reviewed by the Chancellor on a Budget-by-Budget basis, taking into account all relevant economic, social and environmental factors. Fuel duties, as with all other excise duties, are considered as part of the Budget process.

Hospitality Association of Northern Ireland

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Customs and Excise has been repaid the VAT bill by the Hospitality Association of Northern Ireland identified in the inspector's report published by the Northern Ireland Certification Officer.

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise are statutorily debarred from disclosing information relating to the tax affairs of individuals or companies. Exemption 15 (statutory and other restrictions) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

Landfill Tax

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what calculation he has made of the impact on jobs of the introduction of the new Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

John Healey: The reforms to the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS) announced in the 2002 pre-Budget report will involve allocating approximately two-thirds of the funding currently going through the scheme to public spending to encourage sustainable waste management. This reform is intended to deliver a strategic and coherent approach to waste management which, as part of the Government's overall waste strategy, should have a positive impact on the development of waste management industries and related employment in these industries. In order to ensure a smooth transition to the new spending programme, the Government have announced transition funding for waste projects in England which would otherwise have a shortfall between the funding committed through the LTCS and that need to complete planned activity during 2003–04. The Scottish Executive has made a similar announcement regarding projects in Scotland.

London Stock Exchange

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 27 January, Official Report, column 953W, on the London Stock Exchange, what the level of transactions on the London Stock Exchange was between 1999 and 2002 as measured by value in comparison to other major stock exchanges of the world.

Ruth Kelly: Following are figures for turnover on leading stock exchanges, taken from the statistics section of the World Federation of Exchanges' website (www.world-exchanges.org). The federation cautions that exchanges use different definitions and calculation methods to compile turnover statistics, so the resulting figures are not necessarily directly comparable.
	
		Annual value of turnover on stock exchanges in domestic currencies
		
			 Exchange 1999 2002 Percentage change 1999 to 2002 
		
		
			 London Stock Exchange (£ million) 2,106,252 2,657,290 26 
			 NYSE ($ million) 8,945,205 10,311,156 15 
			 NASDAQ ($ million) 10,467,369 7,254,595 -31 
			 Tokyo (yen million) 185,656,910 195,014,915 5 
			 Deutsche Boerse (euro million) 1,472,829 1,279,948 -13 
			 Euronext(7) (euro million) — 2,097,837 — 
		
	
	(7) The Euronext group of exchanges was created in 2000.

Police Authorities

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to assess the efficiency of police authorities, using the methodology set out in the HMT Public Services Productivity Panel Paper, Improving Police Performance: A New Approach to Measuring Police Efficiency (HMT, April 2000); and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The Government announced in the 2002 Spending Review, "2002 Spending Review, New Public Spending Plans 2003–06, July 2002, Cm 5570", that it would publish comparisons of police forces linking resources to performance against key outcomes, including reducing crime and bringing offenders to justice.
	The Home Office is moving forward a comprehensive programme designed to assess overall policing performance, called the Policing Performance Assessment Framework.
	The approach and methodologies set out in the Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT) Public Services Productivity Panel Paper, "Improving Police Performance: A New Approach to Measuring Police Efficiency (HMT, April 2000)" have been taken into consideration during the development of this programme, which will come to fruition over the next few years.
	Basic comparisons of police force performance will be published shortly (in the form of performance radars) and these comparisons will eventually evolve so as to incorporate information on policing efficiency as the Policing Performance Assessment Framework is introduced.

Support Staff

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his Answers of 31st January, (refs. 90981 and 90982), how many support staff there were in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: In 2001–02 approximately 3,800 staff years were allocated to support functions. Figures for 2002–03 are not yet available.

Tobacco Smuggling

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the target market share of smuggled cigarettes was in financial years (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Customs Public Service Agreement and Service Delivery Agreement for 2001 -2004 set targets for the market share of smuggling cigarettes to be no more than 20 per cent. in 2003–04 and 18 per cent. in 2004–05. Further details can be found in Customs Spring Reports for 2000–2001 and 2002, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Car Service

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many chauffeurs are employed by the Government Car Service; and what the ratio is of chauffeurs to cars held in the car pool;
	(2)  what the total mileage as contained in log sheets supplied by Government Car Service drivers is for the most recent month for which figures are available, broken down by Department;
	(3)  how many cars there have been in the Government Car Service pool in each year since 1997; who has access to them; and what the average engine size of the cars was in each year since 1997.

Douglas Alexander: The responsibility for the provision of ministerial cars and drivers has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Government Car Despatch Agency. I have asked its Chief Executive, Mr. Nick Matheson, to write to the hon. Member. Copies of his letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Consultations

Tim Yeo: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list consultations his Office has conducted since 1997; and when each consultation (a) opened and (b) closed.

Tony Blair: My Office has not published any consultation documents.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Civil Servants (Private Sector Appointments)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the cases in the last 10 years where senior civil servants have been granted clearance to accept private sector appointments.

Jane Kennedy: The Northern Ireland Office has granted permission in one case, in the last 10 years, for a senior civil servant to accept a private sector appointment.
	Within the Northern Ireland Administration the information sought is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. To compile the necessary information would require scrutiny of the personal files of all current members of the Senior Civil Service and those who have retired or resigned over the last 10 years.

Civil Servants (Private Sector Appointments)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what procedures are in place regarding civil servants from Northern Ireland accepting private sector appointments on their retirement.

Jane Kennedy: The procedures governing the acceptance of business appointments by civil servants are set out in the Northern Ireland Civil Service Pay and Conditions of Service Code, paragraphs 914–942 and in the Northern Ireland Office staff handbook Guidance on Conditions of Service for HCS chapter 20, page 111–113. These procedures apply to the acceptance of appointments within business and other bodies. These sections of the Code and the staff handbook are currently under review.
	I have placed copies of the relevant sections of the staff handbooks referred to in the Library.

Hospitality Association of Northern Ireland

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were (a) formally interviewed, (b) cautioned and (c) charged in relation to the allegation of invoice fraud made in the Certification Officer Inspector's report on the Hospitality Association of Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: Two persons were formally interviewed under caution by the police in June 1999 in connection with alleged false invoicing. Neither was formally cautioned or charged.

Railways

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to seek the opinion of an independent railway civil engineer on the cost of upgrading the Lisburn to Antrim railway line before a decision is taken on the closure of the line.

Angela Smith: An economic and financial appraisal completed in February 2001 by independent consultants ERM, and subsequently independently validated in April 2002 by Halcrow Group Limited, concluded that to upgrade the line so that it could continue to be used for scheduled services and to provide the necessary rolling stock would cost in the region of £18–19million. I have no plans to commission any further studies of these costs.

Railways

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the likely savings from the withdrawal of the Lisburn to Antrim rail service and what plans there are to use the line as an emergency diversionary route.

Angela Smith: Translink have advised that savings in track maintenance costs arising from the withdrawal of services on the Lisburn to Antrim railway line would amount to £370,000 per annum. Capital expenditure in the order of £18 to £19 million would be required in the medium to long-term to retain services on the line. The line continues to be available as a diversionary route when the main line from Lisburn to Belfast is closed. I intend to make a written statement about the future of services on the Lisburn to Antrim line fairly soon. This statement will cover the issue of the value of the line as a diversionary route.

Railways

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to seek the opinion of an independent railway operations expert on the viability of maintaining an enhanced timetable of services on the Lisburn to Antrim railway line before a decision is made on the closure of the line.

Angela Smith: It is clear that an enhanced timetable of services on the Lisburn to Antrim railway line could only be introduced at the expense of a reduced timetable of services elsewhere on the network, and in particular on the direct line from Antrim to Belfast via Bleach Green junction. Switching more trains to run on the Lisburn to Antrim line would disadvantage more people than it would help. Accordingly, I have no plans to seek the opinion of an independent railway operations expert on the viability of maintaining an enhanced timetable of services on the Lisburn to Antrim railway line.

WALES

Unadopted Sewers

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh Assembly Secretaries on the issue of unadopted sewers.

Don Touhig: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues and Assembly Secretaries about issues affecting Wales. I understand that Defra and the National Assembly have appointed consultants to undertake research into the extent and condition of existing private drains and sewers in England and Wales.

Air Transport

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues and National Assembly for Wales Secretaries on the development of regional airports and air services in Wales.

Peter Hain: The Department for Transport and the National Assembly are currently consulting on an air transport strategy for Wales, which recognises the potential of regional airports, including RAF Valley in my hon. Friend's constituency.

Orthopaedic Care (Gwent)

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary about the recent report on orthopaedics in Gwent by Professor Edwards.

Don Touhig: I have regular discussions with the Assembly's Minister for Health and Social Services, and the Secretary of State has regular meetings with the First Minister about the provision of health care in Wales.
	I welcome the report by Professor Edwards into the provision of orthopaedic care in Gwent and have noted with interest the findings and recommendations.

Policing

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of North Wales concerning policing matters in Wales.

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with the Chief Constables of all four Welsh forces.

Policing

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues and National Assembly Secretaries about police funding in Wales.

Peter Hain: I have discussed the level of police funding with ministerial colleagues and Assembly Ministers. I am pleased that, this year, Welsh forces will receive £355.2 million in grant funding—an increase of 3.6 per cent.

Magistrates Courts

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Lord Chancellor's Department regarding magistrates courts closures in Wales.

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues about matters affecting Wales, but decisions about the future of individual courts are a matter for local Magistrates' Courts Committees.

Minimum Wage

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the impact of increasing the minimum wage (a) in line with average earnings, (b) to £4.17 per hour, (c) to £4.87 per hour, (d) to £5.00 per hour and (e) to £5.30 per hour, on the cost of salaries of departmental employees (i) in total and (ii) for each nation of the United Kingdom in the next financial year.

Peter Hain: All Wales Office staff already earn more than £5.30 an hour. Therefore any increase in the minimum wage by (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) will have no impact on the cost of salaries for the Wales Office.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

EU Aid Programmes

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of UK spending on international development in 2002–03 will be spent through European Union programmes; what assessment she has made of the quality and prioritisation of EU aid programmes; what plans she has to re-direct UK spending on international development away from the EU; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: Provisional figures for EC development spending in 2002 indicate that around 25 per cent. of DFID's budget has been spent through European Commission programmes.
	The EC development budget particularly for those regions funded from the regular budget, performs poorly compared with other multilateral providers. Some of the EC's programme are of high quality but overall they are not focused on reducing poverty. While quality should improve if the reforms launched in 2000 have the desired impact, procedures are still cumbersome and the process of deconcentration is behind schedule.
	Prioritisation needs radical overhaul. Allocation decisions too often reflect the political consensus by the Council of Ministers and European Parliament to maintain spending at historical levels in middle income regions which reflect domestic or foreign policy considerations. These programmes do not generate the institutional reforms these regions require. We want to see the pledge, explicit in the EC's Development Policy Statement of November 2000, to focus on poverty reduction reflected in annual decisions over resource transfers. Given the clear links between poverty and global security the Commission and Member States need to widen the horizon beyond the near abroad and focus scarce grant resources where they can make the most difference in tackling poverty and instability. Provisional figures indicate that in 2001 only 43 per cent. of the EC's budget was spent in the poorest countries. Although an improvement from 38 per cent. in the previous year, we believe the Commission should achieve the target of spending 70 per cent. of the development budget in low income countries by 2006.
	EC budget figures are set until 2006. Discussions about the next financial perspectives over the budget for 2007–2013 are at a very early stage, and might be influenced by the outcome of the Convention debate on the future of Europe. There are some key questions: if Commission programmes can be better delivered through national agencies or other multilateral providers, then it is hard to justify their continuation. If the Commission can demonstrate its comparative advantage in terms of effectiveness, impact and outcomes then we should also use it more as a channel for national funds. Unless they can do this, we will seek a reduction in future Commission aid levels. We need to focus their programmes where they can add value, and cut back other activities.

Iain Hook

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what investigations she is carrying out into the death of Iain Hook; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: Her Majesty's Government have insisted on a full investigation by the UN and Israeli Authorities. We have made our concerns clear at the highest levels, and have been assured that the Israeli Defence Force enquiry would be rigorous and comprehensive. We are in close touch with the UN about the investigation they are carrying out. We, and Mr Hook's family, will fully consider the outcome of these investigations when they are made available.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Badgers

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been undertaken under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

John Denham: The information requested is shown in the table for England and Wales, 1997 to 2001.
	Statistics for 2002 will be available in the late autumn of this year.
	
		Number of defendants(8) proceeded against for offences against the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 -- England and Wales 1997–2001
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against Offence description Statute 
		
		
			 1997 44 Offences relating to cruelty to badgers and special protection for badgers and their setts Protection of Badgers Act 1992 (except section 13) 
			 1998 19   
			 1999 30   
			 2000(9) 21   
		
	
	(8) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(9) Staffordshire Police were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against at magistrates courts in 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been issued in 2002–03 for offenders aged 15 to 18-years-old.

John Denham: The number of notifications received by the Home Office of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued within England and Wales, from 1 January 2002 up to 30 September 2002 (latest available), for persons aged 10 to 17 years is 105. For persons aged 18 years and over the figure is 59. A further 10 ASBOs have been issued within the same period where the age of the recipient has not been given. A more detailed breakdown by age is not available.
	We are aware that the numbers of ASBOs made nationally have been consistently under reported in returns made by magistrates courts and are considering how reporting can be improved.

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) anti-social behaviour orders, (b) parenting orders and (c) curfew orders have been issued in the City of Leeds in the last three years.

John Denham: The table shows the number of notifications received by the Home Office of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued within the West Yorkshire Magistrates' Courts Committee (MCCs) area (in which the City of Leeds is situated) and by local government authority up to 30 September 2002 (latest available).
	We are aware that the numbers of ASBOs made nationally have been consistently under reported in returns made by magistrates' courts and are considering how reporting can be improved.
	
		Table A: The number of ASBOs as notified to the Home Office, by Magistrates' Courts Committee and local authority area within England and Wales, April 1999 to September 2002
		
			 MCC/Local authority area Total issued 
		
		
			 West Yorkshire MCC 22 
			   
			 Of which:  
			 From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 by pfa 4 
			 From 1 June 2000 to 30 September 2002 by local authority area 18 
			 Bradford, City of 2 
			 Kirklees MC 3 
			 Leeds CC 13 
		
	
	Note:
	Between 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data available by police force area (pfa) only
	Youth Justice Board (YJB) figures indicate that between April 2000 (when YJB data collection on Parenting Orders started) up to September 2002 (latest available) a total of three Parenting Orders were imposed in Leeds.
	Figures from the electronic monitoring contractors indicate that a total of 1,465 Curfew Orders with electronic monitoring were imposed in Leeds during the years 2000 to 2002.
	
		Table B: The number of Curfew Orders imposed in the City of Leeds on juveniles and adults for the years 2000 to 2002
		
			 Year Number of orders 
		
		
			 Juvenile Curfew Orders (aged 10–15)  
			 2000 0 
			 2001 16 
			 2002 41 
			 Total 57 
			 Adult Curfew Orders (aged 16+)  
			 2000 431 
			 2001 368 
			 2002 609 
			 Total 1,408 
		
	
	No applications have yet been received to establish a local child curfew scheme under section 14 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Some local authorities and police forces have considered the possibility but concluded that other measures should be taken to tackle relevant local problems.

Settlement Applications

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the countries from which people have come who have applied for settlement in the last five years; and what percentage of applications was refused.

Beverley Hughes: The available statistics are given in the following table.
	The information relates to decisions on applications for settlement by main nationality. The latest available data are for 2001. Data for 2002 will be published later this year.
	
		Table 1 Decisions on applications for settlement, by nationality, excluding EEA nationals, 2001 -- United Kingdom
		
			 Geographical region and nationality Number of decisions Percentage refused 
		
		
			 All nationalities 109,170 2.2 
			
			 Europe   
			 Bulgaria 320 4.3 
			 Croatia 665 0.3 
			 Cyprus 250 4.4 
			 Czech Republic 480 0.2 
			 Estonia 40 0.0 
			 Hungary 220 0.9 
			 Latvia 70 1.4 
			 Lithuania 125 4.8 
			 Malta. 95 0.0 
			 Poland 950 0.5 
			 Romania 365 2.5 
			 Russia 1,035 1.2 
			 Slovakia 430 0 5 
			 Slovenia 10 0.0 
			 Switzerland 220 1.4 
			 Turkey 3,265 0.8 
			 Ukraine 420 3.1 
			 Yugoslavia 2,800 0.7 
			 Other former USSR 350 2.0 
			 Other former Yugoslavia 1,570 0.4 
			 Other Europe 255 0.4 
			 Europe 13,935 1.0 
			
			 Americas   
			 Argentina 120 0.0 
			 Barbados 115 1.7 
			 Brazil 590 2.9 
			 Canada 1,330 0.8 
			 Chile 80 5.1 
			 Colombia 755 1.3 
			 Guyana 210 3.3 
			 Jamaica 3,240 12.1 
			 Mexico 130 0.0 
			 Peru 155 2:0 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 385 5.2 
			 USA 4,415 0.7 
			 Venezuela 85 0.0 
			 Other Americas 815 3.9 
			 Americas 12,425 4.2 
			
			 Africa   
			 Algeria 795 2.8 
			 Angola 275 0.7 
			 Congo (Dem. Rep.)(10) 740 0.7 
			 Egypt 415 2.6 
			 Ethiopia 455 0.0 
			 Ghana 2,555 4.6 
			 Kenya 1,055 6.4 
			 Libya 385 3.4 
			 Mauritius 395 5.1 
			 Morocco 585 2.2 
			 Nigeria 5,275. 4.4 
			 Sierra Leone 905 3.5 
			 Somalia 8,300 0.1 
			 South Africa 4,825 1.4 
			 Sudan 615 2.8 
			 Tanzania 310 10.9 
			 Tunisia 195 0.5 
			 Uganda 770 4.0 
			 Zambia 380 9.2 
			 Zimbabwe 1,025 4.7 
			 Other Africa 1,990 2.1 
			 Africa 32,250 2.5 
			 Asia   
			 Indian sub-continent   
			 Bangladesh 4,115 1.7 
			 India 7,470 2.6 
			 Pakistan 11,785 2.1 
			 Indian sub-continent 23,370 2.2 
			
			 Middle East   
			 Iran 1,505 3.0 
			 Iraq 1,650 0.4 
			 Israel 325 1.5 
			 Jordan 185 4.9 
			 Kuwait 20 25.0 
			 Lebanon 275 2.6 
			 Saudi Arabia 45 0.0 
			 Syria 175 1.1 
			 Yemen 380 2.6 
			 Other Middle East 130 0.8 
			 Middle East 4,685 1.9 
			
			 Remainder of Asia   
			 China 1,550 2.5 
			 Hong Kong 635 4.6 
			 Indonesia 205 0.5 
			 Japan 1,700 0.3 
			 Malaysia 725 3.2 
			 Philippines 1,380 1.7 
			 Singapore 225 1.3 
			 South Korea 490 1.6 
			 Sri Lanka 4,060 0.5 
			 Taiwan 170 3.0 
			 Thailand 1,265 0.7 
			 Other Asia 3,660 0.4 
			 Remainder of Asia 16,065 1.1 
			 Asia 44,120 1.8 
			
			 Oceania   
			 Australia 3,230 0.7 
			 New Zealand 2,195 0.5 
			 Other Oceania 60 1.6 
			 Oceania 5,485 0.6 
			
			 British Overseas   
			 Citizens 560 7.5 
			 Stateless 390 1..0 
			 Other countries   
			 Not elsewhere specified   
			 All nationalities 109,170 2.2 
		
	
	(10) The Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire
	Notes
	Data rounded to the nearest five.
	Percentages rounded to one decimal place.

Asylum Seekers

Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 30 January 2003, Official Report, column 1035W, on Afghan asylum claims, how many Afghan refugees granted asylum have claimed that they fought for the Taliban but (a) that they did not support the Taliban and (b) that they were coerced.

Beverley Hughes: We are under no obligation to give refuge to terrorists or anybody else who poses a threat to the United Kingdom's national security, such as Taliban fighters. As a result of media speculation, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) has reviewed all Afghan applicants granted asylum who applied since 1 October 2001, shortly before the fall of the Taliban.
	No cases were found of people granted asylum because they were committed to the Taliban regime and feared persecution from the new government. There were three who gave credible accounts of being opposed to the Taliban but having been forcibly conscripted by them. All three claimed to have escaped when an opportunity presented itself and none was engaged in direct combat with British or US ground forces.

Asylum Seekers

Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the use of (a) chartered and (b) military flights for the deportation of failed asylum claimants.

Beverley Hughes: The use of charter flights is a means of removing large numbers of failed asylum seekers and other immigration offenders when there is no availability of seats on scheduled aircraft.
	They are also used for removals to destinations that carriers from the United Kingdom currently do not operate to, eg Kosovo.
	Charter flights have been used to remove large numbers of failed asylum seekers since March 2001. During the current financial year over 2000 failed asylum seekers have been removed on such flights.
	Military flights are not used for the removal of failed asylum seekers at this time.

Asylum Seekers

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accommodation and property companies he has commissioned to find properties with planning permission for use as hostels for the accommodation of asylum seekers; where properties selected for such use are located; what costs have been incurred by the Home Office in connection with such properties; what the anticipated (a) capital and (b) revenue costs are; what consultations have taken place with (i) hon. Members and (ii) other bodies; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 23 January 2003
	The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) is currently conducting a procurement exercise for the provision of accommodation to support the Induction Centre for London and the south east which will include consultation with relevant local stakeholders as part of this procurement process.
	NASS is also considering proposals for short term emergency accommodation in the regions. If contracts are entered into, this accommodation will be used until the national network of induction centres is established.

Broadband Access

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) police forces and (b) probation services have broadband access; and what targets have been set for full broadband access in each case.

John Denham: holding answer 7 February 2003
	All police forces have access to a secure, high capacity Internet connection via the Criminal Justice Extranet (CJX), which provides secure messaging, information and document exchange and user directories for the police forces.
	The CJX provides forces with access to the Internet and there are no additional plans or targets to introduce separate broadband access.
	Many Probation Areas have Internet access via stand-alone PC's. It is not known what proportion of these have broadband access and no targets have been set for the provision of broadband access.

Burnley Riots

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the costs of policing the disturbances in Burnley in 2001 were.

John Denham: I understand from the Chief Constable (Mr Paul Stephenson QPM) that the additional costs of policing the disturbances was 1.3million. On 30 January 2002 we announced a special grant of £820,000. This grant met 64 per cent. of the additional costs incurred by the force.

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time police officers are assigned to child protection departments in each constabulary in England and Wales.

John Denham: Information is not collected centrally on the number of police officers deployed to child protection duties. The allocation of resources within a force is decided locally by the Chief Constable or, in the case of the Metropolitan Police Service, the Commissioner. Under the National Policing Plan all forces and authorities are expected to review their force policy and local service plans to ensure that child protection is given the appropriate priority.

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to raise the priority level of child protection policing in policing plans.

John Denham: The National Policing Plan (NPP) specifically asks all police forces and authorities to review their force policy and local policing plans to ensure that child protection is given the appropriate priority.
	Police forces and authorities are required to take into account the contents of the NPP when preparing their local annual and three-year policing plans. Guidance on three-year plans has been issued, and asks forces and authorities to submit their three-year plans to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary by 31 March 2003.

Closed Circuit Television

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research studies he has commissioned on the efficacy of CCTV in reducing crime; and what the results were.

John Denham: Under the Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative around £170 million will be spent between 1998 and 2003 funding 684 CCTV schemes. More than 550 of these schemes are already fully operational, with further schemes coming on line weekly.
	As a condition of funding, each scheme is required to undertake an independent evaluation of its effectiveness as a tool to assist the police and reduce crime and the fear of crime. These evaluations will cover implementation, impact and cost effectiveness. In addition, to help ensure maximum impact and sustainability of CCTV, a £1.5 million Home Office funded national evaluation programme is being carried out by the Scarman Centre, University of Leicester, on 17 approved CCTV initiative schemes. The final report will not be published until 2004 but interim reports will be available before then. The first—providing guidance for practitioners on implementation of CCTV schemes—is due for publication shortly.

Crime Data

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the links between crime levels and (a) poverty, (b) income inequality, (c) legal drug abuse, (d) illegal use of drugs and (e) family break-up; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The British Crime Survey (BCS) 2001–02 provides information on victims of crime and includes statistics on risks of crime by household type for burglary (table 4.03), vehicle thefts (table 5.04) and violent crime (6.02). Figures are broken down into categories which include household income, employment status and area type. More detailed analysis of the risks of burglary, based on the 1998 BCS, was published in 1999. This analysis did not show an independent link between risk of burglary victimisation and household income. The BCS 2001–02 also published risks by types of neighbourhood. This showed that people living in the more deprived 'striving areas' tended to experience higher risks generally, although there was also an increased risk in 'rising areas', such as affluent urban areas.
	In terms of offending, poverty has been identified as one of the potential risk factors associated with offending. For example, a study of working class boys found that a combination of low income, poor housing and large family size consistently identified an increased risk of self-reported offending, criminal convictions and both juvenile and adult offending (Farrington 1992b and 1992c).
	The new English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) research programme, which involves interviewing and drug testing adults arrested by the police, confirms a link between drug misuse and crime. Analysis on the links between crime, family background and drug use is published in the 1998–99 Youth Lifestyles Survey. This examined the extent to which various factors were associated with offending among young people aged 12 to 30. Figures show, for example, that young people who lived in a lone parent or a step parent family were more likely to be serious or persistent offenders than those who lived with their natural parents. However, persistent, serious conflict between parents, or between a parent and a child, appears to be more important, in this respect, than family structure. While some structures—notably lone parent families—are correlated with an increased risk that children will offend, the evidence suggests that this is a product of factors that also affect children in two-parent families. Drug users were also more likely to be serious or persistent offenders than non-drug users.
	In the spring we intend to publish a series of reports on the relationship between binge-drinking by young people and offending. Work is also being undertaken on a literature review on the relationship between alcohol and violence.

Crime Statistics (Hertfordshire)

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give a breakdown of crime statistics for (a) Hertsmere and (b) Hertfordshire for each year since 1997, including the most recent figures available.

John Denham: The number of offences recorded in the Hertsmere Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP), and the Hertfordshire police force area for the years requested are given in the table.
	Currently, six key offence groups are recorded and published at Crime and Disorder Partnership level. Data have been collected at this level since 1 April 1999. All main offence groups are collected at police force area level.
	There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which would have the tendency to increase the number of offences counted. Numbers of offences before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.
	
		Table A—Number of recorded offences in Hertsmere Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.
		
			  Violence against the person Sexual offences Robbery Burglary in a dwelling Theft of a motor vehicle Theft from a vehicle 
		
		
			 1999–2000(11) 1,000 60 49 480 325 1,305 
			 2001–01 453 33 52 512 303 1.223 
			 2001–02 303 22 77 544 395 1,135 
		
	
	(11) Parts of this area were policed by the Metropolitan Police until 1 April 2000, when responsibility for policing was transferred to Hertfordshire Constabulary.
	
		Table B—Number of offences recorded by Hertfordshire Constabulary, from 1997 to 2001/02, by offence group
		
			 Year Total Violence against the person Sexual offences Robbery Burglary Theft and handling stolen goods Fraud and Forgery Criminal damage Drug and other offences 
		
		
			 1997 (12) 50,050 2,311 290 289 9,345 26,200 1,345 9,831 (14)439 
			 1998–99 (13) 49,309 3,313 321 250 8,353 22,935 2,312 10,177 1,648 
			 1999–00 (13),(15) 52,741 3,703 348 420 8,689 23,358 2,935 11,560 1,728 
			 2000–01 64,215 4,485 397 508 9,945 28,987 3,982 13,839 2,072 
			 2001–02 67,437 4,713 381 683 10,682 30,213 3,475 15,323 1,967 
		
	
	(12) Recorded on a calendar year basis.
	(13) The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998.
	(14) Before 1 April 1998 the only drug offence recorded was "trafficking".
	(15) Parts of this area were policed by the Metropolitan Police until 1 April 2000, when responsibility for policing was transferred to Hertfordshire Constabulary. The figures given for this year are based on the 'Old boundaries'.

Cruelty to Animals

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had about the possible linkages between cruelty to animals and offences against the person.

John Denham: The Department has not held recent discussions on the possible linkages between cruelty to animals and offences against the person, however, the Department is aware of the current external debates on this issue.

Drug-related Crime

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the percentage of crime related to drug use in (a) rural areas and (b) the Eastern region of the United Kingdom.

Bob Ainsworth: Recorded crime figures include statistics on drugs offences, such as possession, and on acquisitive crimes, such as burglary, but do not record whether the latter are related to an offender's drug habits.
	However, the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) research programme, which involves interviewing and drug testing those arrested by the police, confirms a link between drug misuse and crime, although the conclusions do not relate specifically to rural areas or the Eastern region of the United Kingdom. Analysis of the data from the first eight sites in the survey, collected during 1999–2000, shows that 65 per cent. of arrestees provided a urine sample that tested positive for one or more illegal drug.
	The analysis also shows that up to 29 per cent. of arrestees tested positive for opiates (including heroin) and/or cocaine (including crack).
	As a guide to the proportion of crime that is drug-related, analysis of the NEW-ADAM self-report data indicates that while only 21 per cent. of non-drug using arrestees reported having previously offended in the past 12 months, this figure rises to 75 per cent. for those arrestees who use heroin and/or cocaine/crack. Moreover, while users of both heroin and cocaine/crack represented just under one quarter of all arrestees interviewed, they were responsible for more than three fifths of all the illegal income reported.
	In support of this, 55 per cent. of arrestees who reported using one or more drugs in the last 12 months and committing one or more acquisitive crimes, acknowledged a link between their drug use and their offending behaviour. This proportion rose to 78 per cent. for arrestees who said they had used heroin and cocaine/crack.

Drug-related Crime

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of crime in the (a) Leeds West constituency and (b) the city of Leeds was deemed to be drug related in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Recorded crime figures include statistics on drugs offences, such as possession, and on acquisitive crimes, such as burglary, but do not record whether the latter are related to an offender's drug habits.
	However, the new English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) research programme, which involves interviewing and drug testing those arrested by the police, confirms a link between drug misuse and crime, although the conclusions do not relate specifically to Leeds. Analysis of the data from the first eight sites in the survey, collected during 1999–2000, shows that 65 per cent. of arrestees provided a urine sample that tested positive for one or more illegal drug. The analysis also shows that up to 29 per cent. of arrestees tested positive for opiates (including heroin) and/or cocaine (including crack).
	As a guide to the proportion of crime that is drug-related, analysis of the NEW-ADAM self-report data indicates that while only 21 per cent. of non-drug using arrestees reported having previously offended in the past 12 months, this figure rises to 75 per cent. for those arrestees who use heroin and/or cocaine/crack. Moreover, while users of both heroin and cocaine/crack represented just under one quarter of all arrestees interviewed, they were responsible for more than three fifths of all the illegal income reported.
	In support of this, 55 per cent. of arrestees who reported using one or more drugs in the last 12 months and committing one or more acquisitive crimes, acknowledged a link between their drug use and their offending behaviour. This proportion rose to 78 per cent. for arrestees who said they had used heroin and cocaine/crack.

Drug-related Crime (Portsmouth, South)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of crime in the Portsmouth, South constituency was deemed to be drug-related in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Recorded crime figures include statistics on drugs offences, such as possession, and on acquisitive crimes, such as burglary, but do not record whether the latter are related to an offender's drug habits.
	However, the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) research programme, which involves interviewing and drug testing those arrested by the police, confirms a link between drug misuse and crime, although the conclusions do not relate specifically to Portsmouth. Analysis of the data from the first eight sites in the survey, collected during 1999–2000, shows that 65 per cent. of arrestees provided a urine sample that tested positive for one or more illegal drug. The analysis also shows that up to 29 per cent. of arrestees tested positive for opiates (including heroin) and/or cocaine (including crack).
	As a guide to the proportion of crime that is drug-related, analysis of the NEW-ADAM self-report data indicate that while only 21 per cent. of non-drug using arrestees reported having previously offended in the past 12 months, this figure rises to 75 per cent. for those arrestees who use heroin and/or cocaine/crack. Moreover, whilst users of both heroin and cocaine/crack represented just under one quarter of all arrestees interviewed, they were responsible for more than three fifths of all the illegal income reported.
	In support of this, 55 per cent. of arrestees who reported using one or more drugs in the last 12 months and committing one or more acquisitive crimes, acknowledged a link between their drug use and their offending behaviour. This proportion rose to 78 per cent. for arrestees who said they had used heroin and cocaine/crack.

Elderly People

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police hours were spent by the Metropolitan Police in the last 12 months for which figures are available on searching for elderly people who have wandered or absconded from (a) their homes or (b) places of residence; and what the total cost was of such exercises.

John Denham: holding answer 11 February 2003
	The Commissioner for Police of the Metropolis informs me that the information sought is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Firearms

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the outcomes of the UK Gun Summit held on 10 January 2003.

Bob Ainsworth: The discussions which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary chaired on 10 January allowed the Government, representatives of community groups and the law enforcement authorities to engage together to look for solutions to the problem of people carrying and using guns, and the attitudes and experiences which lead them to do so. The meeting looked widely at legislation and law enforcement issues, at community involvement and at the underlying causes of gun crime. We are pursuing a range of follow up actions designed to take this work forward and to encourage and maintain community involvement. We have announced proposals for legislation and we will be making further proposals for action in the coming weeks.

Firearms

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what co-operation exists between the UK and European police forces to combat illicit firearm trafficking.

Bob Ainsworth: There is good co-operation between the UK and EU law enforcement agencies in combating illicit firearms trafficking and the UK is represented in a number of international fora aimed at ensuring joint working to combat this threat.
	UK law enforcement is active in the Interpol Weapons and Explosives Tracking System (IWETS), the South European Co-operation Initiative (SECI), the United Nations panel of experts for small arms and light weapons tracing and marking (SALW), and the EU Small Arms Policy Committee (SAPC).
	UK enforcement agencies have also forged strong bi-lateral links with their European partner agencies in their attempts to tackle the problem of cross border trafficking in small arms and light weapons.

Firearms

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes involving the use of guns were committed in Staffordshire over the last 12 months for which figures are available; and in which locations.

John Denham: holding answer 14 January 2003
	There were 116 recorded crimes in Staffordshire in the year ending March 2002 which involved firearms (excluding air weapons). Details of the locations of the offences are not available.

Graffiti

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many successful prosecutions there have been in each of the last 10 years against those who target (a) vehicles and (b) buildings with graffiti.

John Denham: It is not possible to distinguish offences of graffiti from other types of criminal damage in the Home Office figures for court proceedings as the circumstances of individual offences are not collected centrally.

Greater London Assembly

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial assistance his Department gave to the Greater London Assembly in 2002; and for what projects.

John Denham: The figures provided are for the financial year 2002–03 and relate to the Greater London Authority.
	The Home Office has allocated £1,015,895,687 in police grant to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), which is part of the Greater London Authority. In addition, we are providing the following specific grants to the MPA:
	£62 million from the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) to continue funding for CFF officers recruited in 2000–01 and 2001–02 and for CFF officers to be recruited in 2002–03;
	£9.9 million from the DNA Expansion Programme;
	roughly £20 million towards the cost of police officers' London Allowance;
	£2.45 million to meet the cost of free travel for police officers;
	an extra £13.1 million from the Street Crime Initiative;
	an extra £46.3 million to counter terrorism (comprising £34 million for police officers, £8 million for community support officers and £4.3 million for associated counter-terrorism work).
	We are also making available to the MPA the following capital resources:
	£44.5 million in general capital grant and supplementary credit approvals;
	£41 million for "Airwave", the new radio communications system;
	£25 million for the Metropolitan Police's Command Control and Communications Information (C3i) System;
	an extra £1 million for two successful bids from the £20 million Premises Improvement Fund.

Identity Cards

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the enquiries of the hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey to his private office, when the hon. Member will receive a transcript of the speech he made on identity cards on 15 January.

David Blunkett: holding answer 11 February 2003
	A copy of the transcript was sent to the hon. Member's office on 7 February.

Missing Persons

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children (a) ran away from home, (b) were listed as missing and (c) were abducted each year since 1997.

John Denham: Statistics on the number of children who run away are not collected on a national basis.
	Estimates of the scale of the problem have been made in the course of research studies. The most recent, by the Children's Society in 1999 1 , drew on a national sample of nearly 13,000 young people. The study found that each year 77,000 young people under the age of 16 in the UK run away overnight. Because many young people run away more than once, this equates to 129,000 running away incidents each year. Details of this study are available in the recent report by the Social Exclusion Unit (2002) 'Young Runaways'.
	1 Safe on the Streets Research Team (1999) Still Running. London: The children's Society
	'Children Missing from Care and from Home'—a guide of good practice—was published in tandem with the 'Young Runaways' report. This guidance was issued to every English local authority in November 2002, under Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970. This means that, other than in exceptional circumstances, Councils must follow its advice. This guidance recognises that local authorities, the police, and other agencies (including voluntary sector organisations) need to co-operate at local level to ensure a consistent response to the needs of children who have run away from their homes. The guidance requires that all reported runaways, and those not reported but who self refer, should be offered access to an independent interview upon their return—to identify the reasons for running away and agree an appropriate response.
	Statistics are held by the Police National Missing Persons Bureau (PNMPB) on the number of cases where young people remain missing for more than 14 days, or other exceptional cases which are reported before that time. The number of cases recorded since 1997–98 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of children reported missing 
		
		
			 1997–98 938 
			 1998–99 1,184 
			 1999–2000 1,467 
			 2000–01 1,021 
			 2001–02 1,037 
		
	
	Note
	Prior to July 1998 missing persons were not reported to the PNMPB until 28 days after their disappearance.
	Source
	Police National Missing Persons Bureau.
	The Home Office collects statistics from police forces on the number of child abductions committed each year. The offence of 'child abduction' is part of the violence against the person category of recorded crime. It includes both parental and non-parental abductions. The number of offences recorded by the police since 1997–98 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Total number of offences of child abduction 
		
		
			 1997–98(16) 391 
			 1998–99(17) 502 
			 1999–2000 577 
			 2000–01 546 
			 2001–02 583 
		
	
	(16) The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the coverage and rules in use until 31 March 1998.
	(17) The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998.
	Source
	Home Office (2002) Crime in England and Wales 2001–02.
	Offences of abduction which are sexually motivated will be recorded in the separate abduction category of recorded crime. However, this offence relates both to the abduction of adult and child female victims. It is not possible to dis-aggregate these statistics into child victims only.

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the Explanatory Notes for the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.

Beverley Hughes: They were published on 6 February 2003.

CS Spray

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces in England and Wales used CS gas operationally in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: I understand from the Association of Chief Police Officers that 40 police forces in England and Wales have access to CS spray. Information on the extent of its use operationally is not collected centrally.

Police Funding

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what figures in the British Crime Survey Recorded Crime Statistics he used to calculate the formula for the allocation of funds to the 30 Basic Command Units.

John Denham: holding answer 7 February 2003
	To calculate the formula for the allocation of funds to the 30 Basic Command units (BCU), the data source was Recorded Crime Statistics as published in "Crime in England and Wales
	2001/02", a copy of which is in the Library, not British Crime Survey data.
	Four crime criteria were used:
	Ranking of total acquisitive type crimes by BCU in 2001–02;
	Ranking of total acquisitive type crimes per head of the population in the BCU area;
	Ranking for total burglary and robbery crimes only per BCD; and
	Ranking of the percentage increase in acquisitive type crimes 2000–01 to 2001–02.
	Acquisitive type crimes were defined for this purpose as burglary, robbery and theft of, and from, vehicles. These types of crimes are most closely associated with drug use.

Police Recruits

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is of recruiting a police officer; and what the change has been in the level of police grant in Essex from 2001–02 to 2002–03.

John Denham: The recruitment of police officers is the responsibility of the Chief Officer of each force. No central records are kept of the overall cost of recruiting a police officer.
	When rates of payment to be made under the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) in 2000–01 were agreed with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities, £1,000 was included for recruitment. This payment has been up-rated annually to £1,056 per recruit in 2002–03.
	Including CFF, Rural and general grant, Essex received a total allocation of £156.6 million in 2002–03. This was an increase over 2001–02 of 3.9 per cent.

Police Special Branches

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many officers are employed in the Metropolitan Police Special Branch;
	(2)  how many officers are employed in Special Branches, including Ports Units, in police forces in England and Wales outside London.

John Denham: Information collected annually by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary shows that on 31 March 2002 there was a total of 3,463 officers in forces' Special Branches, including 619 ports unit officers. It is not our practice to disclose detail at force level in the interests of national security as to do so could compromise operations.

Police Standards Unit

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 27 January 2003, Official Report, column 715W, on Police Standards Unit, which initiatives have been aided by the work of the Police Standards Unit.

John Denham: The Police Standards Unit is supporting a number of initiatives across police forces in England and Wales to improve police performance. The initiatives include sponsoring and sharing good practice to reduce repeat victimisation, vehicle crime, domestic burglary and drug crime; tackling persistent offenders and street crime; aiding the implementation of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and helping forces make the best use of forensic opportunities.

Retail Industry Crime

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 January, Official Report, column 585W, on retail industry crime, when the consultation on the means of creating and maintaining effective partnerships to reduce opportunities for crime against business will report.

John Denham: The consultation period ends on 28 February 2003. The responses will be collated and analysed over the following eight to 12 weeks and consideration given to the best means of taking business crime reduction partnerships forward. A report should be available by June, and I expect to announce any new arrangements which follow on from the consultation later in the summer.

Retail Industry Crime

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 January 2003, Official Report, column 586W, on small retail businesses, whether the results of the new survey of crime affecting retail and manufacturing business will be (a) published online and (b) placed in the Library.

John Denham: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced in April last year a new survey of crime affecting retail and manufacturing business. This will give a range of information about the types of crime which most impact on these business sectors and provide insights into the most effective interventions to address them. Results of the survey should be available later this year and will be published both online and placed in the Library.

Splash Programmes

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what funding is available to Splash programmes for (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06, broken down by region; what will be the amount of funding provided by each contributing agency; what will be the amount of funding necessary to run each Splash scheme; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what measures are being taken to increase youth participation in the Splash programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  whether there will be a formal report on the Splash programme of 2002; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: In summer 2002 around 370 Splash and Splash Extra schemes were run in high crime areas, enabling over 90,000 young people to take part in a wide range of activities. These schemes contributed to an overall reduction in local crime rates of 5.2 per cent., with reductions of up to 31 per cent. in street crime and robbery in some areas. A full report on the evaluation of the 2002 programme will be published in the spring.
	Each Splash Scheme costs £15,000 for a five-week summer programme, including £5,000 from partner agencies, and £6,000 for a two-week Easter programme, including £2,000 from partners.
	For 2003, the Government will be launching a new single programme of positive activities for young people to provide year round out of school activities for eight to 19-year-olds. The new programme will absorb Splash and Splash Extra, and will deliver activities to more young people, providing support for those most at risk. The new programme will mean less bureaucracy for local areas, allowing them to focus on delivering good quality programmes to young people at risk of crime and social exclusion. While it is not yet possible to provide a regional breakdown of the funding that will be available, we are planning on each region having an increase compared to last year, with an overall increase in the total budget.
	We would hope to sustain this level of activity and funding in subsequent years, but we shall need to review the position in the light of our experience this year.

Surveillance Commissioner

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) authorisations, (b) prior authorisations and (c) renewals of surveillance have been denied by the Surveillance Commissioner (i) in total and (ii) in relation to the Metropolitan Police; and if he will ask the Surveillance Commissioner to report on these matters in future annual reports.

John Denham: As stated in paragraph 6.10 of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner Annual Report only one authorisation for intrusive surveillance was quashed. This was not a Metropolitan Police case.

Sussex Police

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 27 January, Official Report, column 116W, on Sussex police, of the 34 officers transferred from Sussex police in the year to 31 March 2002, where they were transferred to.

John Denham: The information requested is not collected centrally. However I understand from Sussex police that the officers transferred to the forces shown in the table.
	
		Police officers transferred from Sussex Police: 2001–02
		
			 To force Number transferred 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset Constabulary 1 
			 British Transport Police 4 
			 Cambridgeshire Constabulary 2 
			 Cumbria Constabulary 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall Constabulary 3 
			 Dorset Police 2 
			 Dyfed-Powys Police 1 
			 Greater Manchester Police 1 
			 Guernsey Police 1 
			 Hampshire Constabulary 4 
			 Humberside Police 1 
			 Kent County Constabulary 4 
			 Metropolitan Police 6 
			 Nottinghamshire Police 1 
			 West Mercia Constabulary 1 
			 Wiltshire Constabulary 1 
			 Total transfers out of Sussex 34

West Yorkshire Police

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many uniformed police officers West Yorkshire Police employed in (a) 1997 and (b) 2002.

John Denham: Information about the number of uniformed police officers is not collected centrally. Responsibility for determining police officer numbers in a force rests with the chief constable.
	West Yorkshire Police had 5,209 police officers on 31 March 1997 and 4,889 officers on 31 March 2002. The decline in police officer strength in West Yorkshire after March 1997 was much more marked than the overall decline that occurred nationally, despite the force having done a little better than the national average in terms of resources. However, police officer strength in West Yorkshire has been rising since March 2001. In the 12 months to March 2002 force strength increased by 74 officers, I understand that the force expects further substantial growth by March 2003.
	The number of civilian support staff in the force has increased since March 1997 by 130 to 2,364 in March 2002.

Wildlife (Illegal Trade)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will include tougher sentences for illegal trade in wildlife in the Criminal Justice Bill;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on increasing prison sentences for illegal trade in wildlife.

Hilary Benn: The Government's consultation paper, "Review of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1991" which was issued on 15 January, recommends an increase in penalties for certain illegal wildlife trade offences. The deadline for responses is 4 April 2003. There are no current plans to include this in the Criminal Justice Bill, but the Government may consider the proposal in the light of amendments tabled.

Working Holiday Visa Scheme

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will include within his current review of the Working Holidaymaker Visa Scheme an assessment of (a) the case for gap year assistant teachers continuing to receive small monetary payments from UK schools including state schools and (b) the benefits to schools of such visas covering more than one calendar year.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 11 February 2003
	Working Holidaymakers can enter the United Kingdom for a period of up to two years. They are entitled as workers to be paid the national minimum wage or more in the normal way. They may engage in full-time employment for up to 50 per cent. of their stay, and can work in all schools up to the level of junior supply teachers.
	The objectives of the review of the Working Holidaymaker scheme are to make it more inclusive, remove unnecessary work restrictions and reduce abuse of the category. We have agreed that the review will include consideration of the particular interests of gap year entrants. An announcement of the outcome of the review will be made in due course.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Archaeological Sites (Cornwall)

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact of archaeological sites on the tourism industry of Cornwall.

Kim Howells: DCMS has not made a formal assessment of the impact of archaeological sites on Cornwall's tourism industry. Nevertheless, the tourist boards recognise the important role that Cornwall's archaeological heritage plays in attracting visitors to the area.

British Writers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding (a) her Department and (b) her Department's agencies provide to support young British writers.

Kim Howells: The Arts Council of England, which my Department funds, runs a number of schemes to support young British writers. These schemes total £756,800 in 2002–2003.

Capital Projects

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place the evaluations for each Capital Modernisation Fund projects in her Department since 1998 in the Library; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: As the Department's Capital Modernisation Fund projects have not concluded full evaluation reports are not yet available.

Club Licensing

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the costs for existing licence holders of initial registration under the new licensing system as proposed in the Licensing and Entertainment Bill.

Kim Howells: The Government estimate that under the provisions of the Licensing Bill an application for a premises licence will cost between £100 and £500. If an existing licence holder currently has permission to sell alcohol and intends to do so under the new licensing regime they will also have to acquire a personal licence. Existing holders of justices' licences will automatically qualify for a personal licence at a cost of around £30, subject to the right of the chief officer of police to object if they are satisfied that the exceptional circumstances of the case are such that granting the application would undermine the Bill's crime objective.

Club Licensing

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the projected fees are for (a) a premises licence and (b) a club licensing certificate under the proposed Licensing and Entertainment Bill; and what the expected scale of charges is.

Kim Howells: The Government estimate that under the provisions of the Licensing Bill an application for a premises licence or a club premises certificate would cost between £100 and £500 with an annual charge of between £50 and £150 to maintain a revenue stream and cover continuing inspection and enforcement. The Government envisage that fees will be set in bands depending on the size of the premises and are consulting industry, local authorities and others on the precise details of the fee structure.

Computer Misuse

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many laptop computers were used by (a) Ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in her Department in each year since 1995; how many were (i) lost and (ii) stolen; what their cost was; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: At present, one laptop computer is used by a Minister and 80 are used by officials. It is not possible to provide information for previous years.
	One laptop computer was stolen last year, one in 2001 and one in 1999. The average value of the stolen equipment was £2,500.

Computer Misuse

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many cases of computer (a) hacking, (b) fraud and (c) theft her Department recorded in 2001–02; and on how many occasions computer systems have been illegally accessed by computer hackers (i) within and (ii) outside her Department.

Kim Howells: DCMS did not record any cases of computer hacking or fraud in the period in question. There were four instances of computer theft in 2001 and three in 2002. DCMS has no evidence that any departmental computer systems were illegally accessed by hackers, inside or outside the Department.

Departmental Budgets

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the allocated budgets are for each of her Department's internal directorates in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06.

Kim Howells: The administration cost budgets for the Department's internal directorates for financial years 2003–06 have not yet been allocated. The budgets for 2003–04 will be allocated to internal directorates after the Department's Management Board has reviewed their annual business plans in March.

Departmental Consultations

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list consultations her Department has conducted since 1997; and when each consultation (a) opened and (b) closed

Kim Howells: The Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultation, which requires departments to keep a central register of consultations, applies to all formal national consultations from1 January 2001. The information requested before that date is not stored centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Since 2001, the details are as follows:
	
		
			 Title Opening date for responses Closing date for responses 
		
		
			 National Gallery/national Portrait Gallery Review: stage one consultation 8 January 2001 30 January 2001 
			 National Heritage Memorial Fund Review: stage one consultation 4 April 2001 25 May 2001 
			 Report of the Gambling Review Body 17 July 2001 31 October 2001 
			 National Museum of Science and Industry Review: stage one consultation 1 August 2001 19 October 2001 
			 Geffrye Museum/Horniman Museum/Museum of London Review: stage one consultation 8 August 2001 12 October 2001 
			 Consultation on the draft Digital Television Action Plan 12 October 2001 2 January 2002 
			 English Heritage Review stage one consultation 16 October 2001 11 January 2002 
			 Public Lending Right. Quinquennial Performance Review: consultation Paper 13 November 2001 1 February 2002 
			 Quinquennial Review on the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art 19 November 2001 8 February 2002 
			 National Maritime Museum quinquennial Performance Review 22 November 2001 8 February 2002 
			 Consultation on Media Ownership Rules 26 November 2001 28 February 2002 
			 Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester: quinquennial Performance Review 5 December 2001 28 February 2002 
			 Spectrum Planning Consultation 11 December 2001 12 April 2002 
			 Council of Europe—Convention on the Protection of Audiovisual Heritage 20 December 2001 19 March 2002 
			 Review of Progress toward digital switchover 14 February 2002 8 May 2002 
			 Regent's park Sports Facilities Consultations 18 March 2002 10 May 2002 
			 UK's Open General Export Licensing (OGEL) Limits 19 April 2002 14 June 2002 
			 Changes to Licensing Houses during all New Year's Eve 24 April 2002 19 June 2002 
			 The Draft Communications Bill 7 May 2002 2 August 2002 
			 Prize Competitions 23 May 2002 31 August 2002 
			 National Lottery Licensing and Regulation Consultation 27 June 2002 30 September 2002 
			 Review of Lottery Funding: a consultation on Lottery Distribution Policy 29 July 2002 20 October 2002 
			 Children's Play review 16 December 2002 7 March 2003

E-mail Addresses

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by what e-mail address members of the public may contact (a) her and (b) each of the Ministers in her Department; and for each e-mail address if she will state (i) the date it became active and (ii) the number of e-mails received in each month since activation.

Kim Howells: My colleagues and I can be reached at the following addresses:
	tessa.jowell@culture.gsi.gov.uk,
	kim.howells@culture.gsi.gov.uk,
	richard.caborn@culture.gsi.gov.uk, and
	tessa.blackstone@culture.gsi.gov.uk.
	These addresses were set up on the date each Minister was appointed. 11 June 2001 for the first address and 12 June 2001 for the others.
	It is not possible to provide a breakdown by month since the activation of each address save at disproportionate cost. However, so far this year each account has received the following number of e-mails.
	
		
			  January 2003 As of 10 February 2003 
		
		
			 Tessa Jowell 109 27 
			 Kim Howells 39 19 
			 Richard Caborn 19 19 
			 Tessa Blackstone 89 26

Entertainment Licences

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of additional entertainment licences required because of the reform of the two in a bar rule under the Licensing and Entertainment Bill; and what assessment she has made of additional costs.

Kim Howells: Under the provisions of the Bill there will be no separate licence for the provision of public entertainment. Permission to carry on any of the activities licensable under the Bill will be covered by a single premises licence. It will cost no more, in terms of time or money, to apply for a licence permitting the sale of alcohol and the provision of entertainment than it would to apply for one permitting the sale of alcohol only.
	The Regulatory Impact Assessment that was published alongside the Licensing Bill states that just over 9,000 on-licensed premises and registered members clubs hold permanent public entertainment licences or certificates of suitability. An estimated 37,000 temporary public entertainment licences are also issued each year. The Government have made no estimate of the number of premises that will apply for permission to provide entertainment under the new licensing regime. We expect, however, that the removal of the cost deterrent in applying for permission to provide entertainment, along with the provision of a less bureaucratic system and measures to prevent unnecessary conditions being attached to licences by licensing authorities will encourage many more premises to take the opportunity to provide public entertainment.

European City of Culture

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans are in place to assist the promotion of (a) Cardiff, (b) Liverpool, (c) Newcastle and Gateshead, (d) Oxford, (e) Bristol and (f) Birmingham in their bids to obtain the title of European City of Culture 2008.

Richard Caborn: Each of the shortlisted cities will be designated a Centre of Culture. This is a UK only initiative and is not part of the EU's Capital of Culture programme. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in consultation with the shortlisted cities to explore ways of developing the designation and maximising its impact and strengthening the UK's position in Europe as a major cultural destination.
	The independent advisory panel that recommended the shortlist is now undertaking a further and more intensive programme of assessment of the shortlisted bids before making a final recommendation on the choice of City to go forward as the UK's nomination for European Capital of Culture 2008.

Jarvis plc

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what communications she has had with Jarvis plc regarding the consequences of the design of their new headquarters on the architectural heritage of the Smithfield area of the City of London;
	(2)  to what extent her Department has been consulted on the construction work in progress in the Smithfield area of the City of London.

Kim Howells: This Department has not been consulted on the construction work in the Smithfield area, and has had no communications with Jarvis Plc on this matter.

Jarvis plc

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent involvement she has had in the oversight of new construction in historically sensitive areas of the City of London.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State issued a Certificate of Immunity from Listing in respect of Drapers' Gardens, Throgmorton Avenue, London EC2, on 8 January 2003.

National Lottery

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many lottery (a) applications and (b) awards there have been for the Conwy constituency in each year since 1997; and what the national averages were in each year.

Richard Caborn: This Department does not hold comprehensive information on lottery applications, in terms of the number of applications made, or the amounts requested on a constituency level.
	The following table sets out the awards that have been made in the Conwy constituency since 1997 to date and is broken down by calendar year, along with UK constituency national award averages.
	
		
			 Year Conwy constituency number of awards UK constituency national award average 
		
		
			 1997 31 22 
			 1998 33 14 
			 1999 47 31 
			 2000 39 37 
			 2001 55 33 
			 2002 50 38 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures set out in the table were generated from the Department's National Lottery. Awards Database and the information held is supplied to us from the Lottery Distributors.

Online Sales/Purchases

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) products, (b) goods and (c) services were (i) bought and (ii) sold online by her Department in each of the last five years.

Kim Howells: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport achieved the target of 90 per cent. of low value procurement via electronic means. It is not possible to separate the categories of purchases but all stationery, low value office equipment and some low value services are procured either online or through the Government Procurement Card. No sales have taken place online.

Youth Athletics (Wales)

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much direct government funding was given to youth athletics in Wales in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001.

Richard Caborn: This is a devolved matter which is the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Capital Projects

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will place the evaluations for the Capital Modernisation Fund projects relating to (a) national IT strategy, (b) space for sports and arts, (c) school laboratories for the 21st century, (d) wired-up communities, (e) university for industry on-line, (f) new technology institutes, (g) cybrarian, (h) sixth form rationalisation, (i) specialist schools, (j) computers for teachers phase II, (k) HE student support service, (l) SEN communication aids, (m) E-registration, (n) schools management system, (o) ICT for children in care curriculum online, (p) school security from learning to earning, (q) playground renovation and (r) centres of vocational excellence in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: Projects are at different stages and evaluation reports are not yet available for them all. The following projects are complete and copies of their evaluation reports have been placed in the Library:
	National IT strategy
	Wired-up communities
	University for industry on-line
	The project covering children in care is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. The project covering space for sports and arts is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
	I will place copies of the evaluation reports from this Department's other projects in the Library when they become available. They are also routinely placed on the DfES website.

Child Care

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applications with regard to (a) childcare workers and (b) premises are awaiting (i) registration and (ii) inspection; and what steps he is taking to process these applications.

David Miliband: This is a matter for the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). The HM Chief Inspector for Schools, David Bell will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library.

Early Years/Sure Start Funding

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his Department's policy in respect of Early Years and Sure Start funding is in relation to funding for (a) Stoke on Trent and (b) Staffordshire; and who will take the lead in developing services.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	Sure Start Unit brings together at a national level responsibility for early education, childcare and health and family support in one, cross-departmental unit. This national change does not, however, alter the existing roles and responsibilities of Local Authorities (including Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire). They retain their significant responsibilities under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 for early years and childcare. This includes developing local strategic plans for delivery against key government targets for early years and childcare services. Funding is provided to local authorities to enable them to achieve targets and deliver against objectives set out in their plans.
	There are also no current plans to change the funding arrangements for Sure Start Local Programmes. Local Authorities will need to take the services provided through such programmes into account in developing their plans.

Early-years Premises

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many early years settings have been (a) required and (b) recommended to upgrade their premises as a result of OFSTED inspections.

David Miliband: This is a matter for the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). The HM Chief Inspector for Schools, David Bell will write to the hon. Member and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when young people of Redcar and Cleveland Borough will be able to apply for education maintenance allowances.

Margaret Hodge: The national Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme will be available from September 2004 across the whole of England.
	In areas such as Redcar and Cleveland, which were not part of the pilot scheme, the first tranche of eligible students will be those who reach the compulsory school leaving age in the 2003–04 academic year.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost of the Education Maintenance Allowance in the next (a) year and (b) three years.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 7 February 2003
	The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme will continue to be available in 56 local education authority pilot areas for 2003–04 and planned expenditure for this year is £220.5 million. EMAs will be made available across the whole of England from September 2004 and funding allocated in the latest spending review settlement is £300.5 million for 2004–05 and £470.5 million for 2005–06. The final resources required will depend on the details agreed for the national scheme.

Higher Education

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether it is his target to increase participation in higher education (a) towards and (b) to 50 per cent. of those aged 18 to 30.

Margaret Hodge: The target is to increase participation in higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18 to 30-years-old by 2010, as measured by the Initial Entry Rate figure.
	This measure is based on adding up the percentages of the population in each year group, between the ages of 18 and 30, who enter higher education for the first time.
	This target was one of the Public Service Agreements set out during Spending Review 2000 and was confirmed in Spending Review 2002.

St. Bees Village Primary School

Jack Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason restrictions have recently been placed on the number of hours the St Bees Village Primary School After School Club is allowed to open; who took this decision; on what authority it was based; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: In England, regulation of day care for children under the age of eight is the responsibility of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Under Part XA of the Children Act 1989, an after school club must be registered with Ofsted, if care is provided for more than two hours in any day and for more than five days in a year. Schools are exempted from these requirements but there are circumstances in which these exemptions do not apply.
	As the regulatory arrangements in this case are a matter for Ofsted, their HM Chief Inspector for Schools, David Bell, will write to my right hon. Friend and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library.

Student Grants

Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of the 30 per cent. of students who it is estimated in the White Paper The Future of Higher Education will qualify for a full grant will be going into full-time higher education at the age of 18.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 11 January 2003
	I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 6 February 2003, Official Report, column 358w.

Teaching Quality Academy

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the consultation period on the establishment of the teaching quality academy will end.

Margaret Hodge: Consultation is being carried out simultaneously by Universities UK (UUK), the Standing Conference of Principles (SCOP), the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE) and the Higher Education Staff Development Agency (HESDA). It will be completed by the end of March.

Universities' Revenue

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the estimated total extra revenue is that universities will receive per year following the introduction of deferred top up fees.

Margaret Hodge: The amount of fee income raised when the new arrangements are introduced will depend on which institutions decide to charge variable fees and at what level, together with the number of students taking those courses.

University Tuition Fees

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the costs of his plans to provide free tuition to students from low-income families.

Margaret Hodge: For 2002–03, it is costing the Government £477 million to provide tuition fee remission for full-time home and EU students from low-income families at higher education institutions in England and Wales. We intend to continue the present level of fee remission support for students from low-income families.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Democratic Republic of Congo

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1457 in respect of ending illegal activities relating to conflict diamonds; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Officials have had regular contact with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo regarding implementation of the Kimberley Process certification scheme to regulate the international trade in rough diamonds. The DRC is now a participant in the scheme, which we see as the most effective way of dealing with the illicit trade in diamonds—particularly conflict diamonds.
	The scheme came into force on 1 January 2003 and the Government of the DRC has reported a substantial increase in the volume of diamonds being channelled through legitimate sources since this date. Successful implementation of the scheme in the DRC is clearly linked to the current peace process.
	We will continue to encourage the DRC and others to implement in full. Together with the European Commission, we stand ready to offer technical assistance to achieve that, if asked.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has received from the United Nations relating to the UN report on illegal resource exploitation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; what additional investigations in the United Kingdom have been or will be undertaken; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We take seriously the allegations in the UN Expert Panel report against 12 UK companies. Where there is clear evidence of wrongdoing HMG will consider taking appropriate action. We asked for further information from the UN Expert Panel in November 2002 regarding the allegations. However, the Panel's mandate expired when it submitted its report (i.e. on 18 October 2002) and it was therefore unable to re-start work to produce the information requested until a new mandate had been granted. This was given by UN Security Council Resolution 1457 of 24 January. We are pressing the Panel to provide the information as soon as possible.

Sanctions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what United Nations, European Union, African Union and other international mechanisms are in place to monitor and enforce sanctions against (a) the Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: There is an EU arms embargo against the Democratic Republic of Congo, last revised by Common Position 2002/829/CFSP of 21 October 2002.
	The EU adopted Common Position 2002/145/CFSP on 18 February 2002 introducing targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe. These measures include an arms embargo, an embargo against items that could be used for internal repression, a travel ban and an asset freeze. These last two measures are targeted against 79 members of the ruling Zanu-PF party.
	It is the responsibility of each EU Member State to ensure that they enforce each of these sanctions regimes.

Eritrea/Ethiopia

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Eritrea on following a peaceful settlement to territorial disputes with Ethiopia.

Bill Rammell: The European Union resumed the political dialogue with Eritrea under the Cotonou agreement with the signing of a Country Strategy Paper on 14 November 2002. Within this framework, we have had discussions with the Government of Eritrea to discuss the implementation of the 12 December 2000 peace agreement signed in Algiers between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Although there are difficult issues remaining, both sides have given clear assurances that they remain committed to the peace process.

External Consultants

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total cost to his Department was of the use of external consultants in 2002.

Bill Rammell: The cost of external consultants in 2001/02 was £20.01 million.
	The vast majority of expenditure is associated with our major Information Communications Technology (ICT) and Estate construction programmes. Consultants have also advised on legal, financial and personnel issues and provided support in areas where we have skills shortages. The increase in expenditure compared to 2000–01 is associated with the growth of our ICT programmes.
	These figures cover the usual consulting roles eg. for advising on options and feasibility in the initial stages of a project. The figures quoted above exclude the costs of whole projects being implemented by outside consultants eg. Cap Gemini/Ernst and Young who are main contractors for the installation of the PRISM ICT system.

Iain Hook

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what investigations have been put in hand by British police into the death of Iain Hook on 22 November 2002.

Mike O'Brien: We are in close touch with the Suffolk police, who are helping the UK coroner in his investigation into Mr. Hook's death. They will await the outcome of the coroner's investigation before considering any further action.

Kosovo

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Serbs have returned to Kosovo in each month since 1 January 2002.

Jack Straw: holding answer 6 February 2003
	United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) figures indicate that from January to April 2002 inclusive, an average of 72 Serbs returned each month to Kosovo. The figures for the remaining months of 2002 are: May (93), June (56), July (68), August (97), September (206), October (43), November (44), December (27). Figures for returns to Kosovo in January 2003 are not yet available.

Kyrgyzstan

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Kyrgyzstan Government to establish relations; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The British Ambassador, who is resident in Kazakhstan, last met the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister on 28 January. During the meeting he relayed concerns about the timing of a Referendum on Constitutional Reform. Embassy officials pay regular visits to Kyrgyzstan and regularly hold discussions with the Kyrgyz Government. The Department for International Development (DflD) has an office in Kyrgyzstan. My right hon. Friend Secretary of State for International Development plans to visit the country in the next few months.

Pakistan

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2003, Official Report, column 768W, on Pakistan, what steps he plans to take as a result of the Government's concerns about the reports of Pakistan's nuclear-related dealings with other countries.

Mike O'Brien: We have for some time taken, and will continue to take, every available opportunity to impress upon Pakistan the need for compliance with the requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 1172. A key requirement of the Resolution is that Pakistan accede to, and abide by the obligations of, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We have made our concerns about their nuclear activities clear to Pakistan.

Somaliland

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the future of Somaliland.

Bill Rammell: Somaliland organised successful local elections in December 2002, and will hold presidential and parliamentary elections later this year. Our hope is that these elections will help to bring further stability, prosperity and democracy to Somaliland.
	We will monitor developments with keen interest and continue to discuss Somaliland with our partners in the European Union and the United Nations Security Council. We believe it should be for the people of Somalia to decide for themselves on their future.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications for the peace process of the start of conflict in Darfur, Sudan.

Bill Rammell: We do not expect the conflict in Darfur to destabilise the Sudan peace process.

UN Counter-Terrorism Committee

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in the United Nations Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee since September 2001; what role is played by the United Kingdom in the CTC; and what initiatives have been put forward by the United Kingdom.

Bill Rammell: UN Security Council Resolution 1373 requested States to report on the measures taken to implement the resolution and established an ad-hoc Committee of the Security Council, the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) to monitor implementation of the measures imposed. The UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sir Jeremy Greenstock has had the Chair of the CTC since its inception but will relinquish it to the Spanish Permanent Representative in April 2003.
	As chair the UK has worked to achieve a CTC which is focused and dynamic. The UK has drawn up work programmes to take forward work in the three key areas: monitoring States' implementation of 1373, facilitating the provision of assistance, and improving international co-operation on counter-terrorism, particularly between international and regional organisations. With this in mind and at UK instigation, the CTC is hosting a meeting with regional and international organisations on 7 March 2003, to look at their possible roles.
	Since September 2001, 179 of the 191 member states have submitted one or more reports to the CTC. The CTC is now reviewing these, writing to the States concerned to seek further information where necessary, and will be working closely with the 13 states which have yet to submit a report.

UN Resolutions (Israel)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the resolutions passed by the (a) United Nations General Assembly and (b) United Nations Security Council in respect of Israel, which Israel to date has not complied with; and if he will make a statement on efforts made to ensure Israeli compliance.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 10 February 2003
	A number of resolutions are passed at the UN General Assembly each year on the Israel/Palestine question. These resolutions are not legally binding on the parties. Resolutions of the UN General Assembly can be found on the UN website at www.un.org.
	Israel has not complied in full with UN Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002), 1402 (2002) and 1435 (2002). But these resolutions also contain provisions calling on parties other than Israel to take certain action e.g. agreeing a cease-fire, recognising Israel's sovereignty. We continue to support all efforts to resume the Middle East Peace Process, including through the work of the Quartet, of which the UN is a member.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the United Kingdom provided the United Nations Security Council with new information on the increasing terrorist access to and possible use of (a) nuclear, (b) chemical, (c) biological and (d) other potentially deadly materials prior to the debate on combating terrorism in the United Nations Security Council on 20 January.

Bill Rammell: The United Kingdom provided no new information to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) specifically in connection with the debate on combating terrorism on 20 January. In his speech on 20 January to the UNSC my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary highlighted the need to recognise the dangers inherent in a world where WMD and terrorism co-exist.
	We remain in close contact on these issues with Security Council partners and have also shared information with fellow members of multilateral export control regimes. In addition we regularly share information on the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction with the IAEA and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Zimbabwe

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sanctions are in place against members of the Zimbabwe Government.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale today (UIN 94093 and 94094).

Zimbabwe

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  whether the Government intend to extend the travel ban on President Mugabe and the other Zimbabwe government officials beyond 18 February; whether it will do so in association with other European Union countries; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment Her Majesty's Government have made of the effectiveness of the sanctions applied to (a) President Mugabe and (b) other members of the government of Zimbabwe; what consideration the Government have given to extending the travel restrictions to other ministers and officials of the Government; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The EU imposed targeted sanctions on the Zimbabwe Government on 18 February 2002 (a travel ban and assets freeze on leading members of the ZANU-PF regime and an arms embargo). They are proving effective in helping to isolate the ZANU-PF leadership without hurting the ordinary people of Zimbabwe. The sanctions were extended twice in 2002, to ensure that all Government ministers and politburo members were covered (79 people in total). We have not ruled out further additions.
	We want to see the current EU measures extended beyond 18 February. But this requires a unanimous decision by all EU member states.
	We have been in regular contact in recent weeks with all EU partners. EU Foreign Ministers discussed this issue, and the future of the overall sanctions regime, on 27 January, but did not reach a decision. Permanent Representatives discussed it on 30 January and on 5 February, again without reaching consensus. The UK will continue to argue for the maintenance of a robust sanctions regime at the next Coreper meeting on 12 February.

Zimbabwe

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the British Government's policy on what constitutes political dialogue that promotes democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe, as expressed in the Council Common Position concerning restrictive measures against Zimbabwe, Article 3.4–2002/145/CFSP; what discussions he has had with European partners on reaching a common understanding of this article; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Decisions on what constitutes political dialogue that promotes democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe are made on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with EU partners.

Zimbabwe

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action on the situation in Zimbabwe European Union governments have agreed to take in meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council and at meetings of the European Council during the Danish Presidency of the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Zimbabwe was discussed at three meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council under the Danish Presidency.
	On 22 July 2002, the Council decided to extend the travel ban list to include 79 names, continue "appropriate measures" towards Zimbabwe under the Cotonou agreement, condemn the fast track land reform process as a cause of the present crisis and decide to continue to expand its programme of humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe.
	On 30 September the Council discussed preparations for the EU-SADC Ministerial Meeting which took place in Maputo in November, including Zimbabwean participation.
	On 10 December the Council agreed that the Troika would visit Africa to discuss arrangements for the EU-Africa Summit, including Zimbabwean participation.
	The European Council did not discuss Zimbabwe under the Danish Presidency. Full conclusions are available from the Council website, which is at: www.europa.eu.int

Zimbabwe

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  whether those Zimbabwean officials with assets frozen under EU sanctions will be able to access those assets if that sanctions regime is not extended on 18 February; what measures would be in place to stop this money returning to Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral steps government departments are taking to ensure that those Zimbabwean Government officials' assets that are frozen under EU sanctions will remain frozen should the EU's sanctions regime not be extended on 18 February; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 7 February 2003
	The Government remain committed to a rollover of a robust EU package of measures against the ZANU-PF regime, including the assets freeze.

Zimbabwe

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that people born in the UK but living in Zimbabwe may have their passport stamped born in UK.

Mike O'Brien: The town of birth is shown in British passports, but not the actual country unless it is needed to avoid ambiguity. We have no plans to stamp the UK as place of birth into the passports of British citizens living in Zimbabwe.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Minimum Income Standard

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Treasury to establish a minimum income standard which includes targeted support to meet the costs of caring for a disabled child.

Maria Eagle: DWP Ministers meet with ministerial colleagues regularly to discuss issues related to the alleviation of child poverty. They attend the Ministerial Group on Children and Young People (MISC9) and the Joint Ministerial Committee on Poverty, both of which address child poverty issues.
	We do recognise that disabled children, and their families, have additional needs. We are committed to helping severely disabled people with the extra costs they face as a result of their disabilities. In April 2002 the disabled child premium was increased by £5 a week on top of the normal uprating, to £35.50. In April 2003, it will rise again by £5 above inflation, to more than £40 a week on top of basic Income Support or tax credits. In addition, the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance was extended to three and four-year-olds in April 2001, providing an extra £39.30 a week to those families.
	A full analysis of our strategy to eradicate child poverty is given in our annual "Opportunity for all" reports. "Opportunity for all—fourth annual report" (CM 5598) was published in September 2002. It reports on a range of outcome indicators covering many dimensions of poverty and social exclusion.

Benefit/Pension Entitlement

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if the Government will review benefit and pension entitlement with regard to the relationship between the lower earnings threshold and national insurance contributions.

Ian McCartney: The Lower Earnings Limit is currently set at £75 a week, and will rise to £77 a week from the start of the new tax year.
	Until April 2000 employees started paying national insurance contributions, and building up entitlement to contributory benefits, once their earnings reached the Lower Earnings Limit. However from April 2000 a new employees' earnings threshold was introduced as the point from which employees start to pay contributions. This is currently £89 a week, and will remain at this level for 2003–04. This means that employees who earn between the Lower Earnings Level and the earnings threshold do not have to pay national insurance contributions, but nevertheless continue to build up entitlement to contributory benefits such as state pension.
	The recent Green Paper "Simplicity, security and choice: Working and saving for retirement" (Cm 5677) recognised that some people, in particular women, in low-paid or part-time work may face difficulties in accruing sufficient individual rights for the state pension. We will continue to look at the effect of this on contributory and other benefits.

Demography

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the Office for National Statistics' report "Social Trends" predicting a continued rise in the proportion of the population over 65; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The number of people aged over 65 in the UK is expected to increase more rapidly than the population as a whole, leading to a rise in the proportion of the population aged over 65.
	The figures in the Office for National Statistics' report "Social Trends" predicting the rise in the proportion of the population over 65 are the same as those considered by this Department when producing the pensions Green Paper, "Simplicity, security and choice: Working and saving for retirement" (Cm5677).
	The Green Paper sets out our proposals.

Departmental Consultations

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list consultations his Department has conducted since it was established; and when each consultation (a) opened and (b) closed.

Ian McCartney: The Government's code of practice on written consultation applies to written consultations which have a national impact on policy and services from 1 January 2001. The Department for Work and Pensions came into being in June 2001. All copies of consultation documents are published online on both the Department for Work and Pensions and UK Online websites. Paper copies are also available.
	Details on the timing of each consultation since June 2001 are in the table.
	
		
			 Title of consultation Start date End date 
		
		
			 Amending the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 23.07.01 15.10.01 
			 Occupational Pension Scheme Winding up Notices and Reports (etc) Regulations 2001 01.08.01 23.10.01 
			 Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Amendment Regulations 2001 13.08.01 15.11.01 
			 Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) draft miscellaneous amending regulations 03.05.01 31.07.01 
			 Changes to Invalid Care Allowance 23.07.01 15.10.01 
			 The Minimum Funding Requirement: The next stage of reform. Consultation on the draft Occupational Pension Schemes (Minimum Funding Requirement and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2001 18.09.01 12.10.01 
			 Private Pensions Simplification 19.10.01 31.01.02 
			 Bulk transfer of accrued pensions rights without member consent 20.12.01 22.03.02 
			 Revised code of practice on for gathering of information as required in Social Security Fraud Act 2001 08.04.02 20.04.02 
			 Consultation on Three Recommendations in the Myners' report–"Institutional Investment in the UK-a review" 04.02.02 03.05.02 
			 Member nominated trustees and directors 12.02.02 13.03.02 
			 Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) quinquennial review 10.05.02 02.08.02 
			 Measuring Child Poverty 18.04.02 10.07.02 
			 The future of the residential allowance component of Income Support, Minimum Income Guarantee, Jobseeker's Allowance 22.05.02 31.08.02 
			 Equality, Opportunity, and Independence for all (Race Relations Amendment Act) 30.05.02 30.09.02 
			 Social Security Advisory Committee Review 16.10.02 08.01 .03 
			 Pathways to work: Helping people into employment 18.11.02 10.02.03 
			 Simplicity, security and choice: working and saving for retirement 17.12.02 28.03.03

Disability Living Allowance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons disability living allowance spending has increased from 1995–96 to 2003–04 (planned); and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: DLA provides a contribution towards the extra costs faced by severely disabled people. It is paid to those who require personal care and/or have walking difficulties as a result of their disabilities. Spending on the benefit has increased steadily year on year because more people than ever are receiving the benefit (and because its value has been maintained by increasing the rates at which it is paid each year in line with the movement in prices as measured by the retail prices index).

Early Years and Sure Start

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy in respect of Early Years and Sure Start funding is in relation to funding for (a) Stoke on Trent and (b) Staffordshire; and who will take the lead in developing services.

Maria Eagle: Sure Start Unit brings together at a national level responsibility for early education, childcare and health and family support in one, cross-departmental unit. This national change does not, however, alter the existing roles and responsibilities of Local Authorities (including Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire). They retain their significant responsibilities under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 for early years and childcare. This includes developing local strategic plans for delivery against key government targets for early years and childcare services. Funding is provided to local authorities to enable them to achieve targets and deliver against objectives set out in their plans.
	There are also no current plans to change the funding arrangements for Sure Start Local Programmes. Local Authorities will need to take the services provided through such programmes into account in developing their plans.

External Consultants

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 21 January 2003 to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow), Official Report, column 261W, on external consultants, if he will list the projects completed by external consultants during 2001–02, with the cost of each project.

Ian McCartney: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 4 February 2003, Official Report, column 238W.

Ménière's Disease

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will treat those suffering from Ménière's disease as eligible for disability living allowance.

Maria Eagle: People with Ménière's disease are entitled to Disability Living Allowance if they meet the usual qualifying conditions for the benefit, which depend on the effects that severe physical or mental disability have on a person's need for personal care and/or their ability to walk and not on particular disabilities or diagnoses.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many minimum income guarantee claimants are aged (a) 75 and above and (b) 80 and above.

Ian McCartney: The information is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Age Number of MIG claimants 
		
		
			 75 and over 930,400 
			 80 and over 659,000

Minimum Wage

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the impact of increasing the minimum wage (a) in line with average earnings, (b) to £4.17 per hour, (c) to £4.87 per hour, (d) to £5.00 per hour and (e) to £5.30 per hour, on the cost of salaries of departmental employees (i) in total and (ii) for each nation of the United Kingdom in the next financial year.

Ian McCartney: The information is in the table.
	
		Estimate of the full year impact on the Department of Work and Pensions of increases to the National Minimum Wage (NMW)
		
			 ProposedNMW (£) England(18) Scotland(18) Wales(18) Total(18)  
		
		
			  
			 (a) 4.26 Nil Nil Nil Nil 
			 (b) 4.17 Nil Nil Nil Nil 
			 (c) 4.87 6.990 0.949 0.496 8.435 
			 (d) 5.00 9.863 1.342 0.694 11.899 
			 (e) 5.30 16.952 2.340 1.194 20.486 
		
	
	(18) Figures are in £ millions
	Notes:
	1. Total costs include Employers National Insurance Contributions (ERNIC) and superannuation charges.
	2. Average earnings have increased by 3.8 per cent. over the 12 months to November 2002 (Source: Office of National Statistics, "Average Earnings" published 15 January 2003). When applied to the 2002 NMW this would increase the rate to £4.26. All DWP staff are paid hourly rates above this level.

NIRS2

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people received (a) compensation under the existing rules and (b) flat rate £10 payments for incorrect payments triggered by the NIRS2 computer system;
	(2)  how much was paid in (a) compensation under the existing rules and (b) flat rate £10 payments for incorrect payments triggered by the NIRS2 computer system.

Malcolm Wicks: Precise numbers of people who received compensation under the existing rules is not available but, in total, compensation amounting to £4,604,282 has been paid to our customers and of that amount £1,650,122 was in respect of compensation under the existing Departmental scheme; and £2,954,160 was in respect of the £10 special scheme.

Absenteeism

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the rate of staff (a) absenteeism and (b) sickness was in his Department, its predecessors and each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year from 1990–91 to 2002–03; what the target set is for his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2001 there were 31,296 recorded instances of unauthorised absence (i.e. incidences of strike action and people absent without leave only) for the Department and each of its constituent agencies. The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to working in partnership as a means of eliminating industrial action.
	Between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2002 there were 25,024 instances of unauthorised absences (absenteeism) in the Department and each of its constituent agencies.
	The number of instances of unauthorised absences for the Department, its predecessors and its agencies between 1990 and 2000 is not available.
	The number of instances of unauthorised absence for the Department and each of its agencies for January 2003 is not available yet.
	The rate of staff sickness in the Department, its predecessors and each of its agencies between 1990 and 1993 is not available. ITSA was privatised during 1998/1999, therefore consistent staff sickness rate figures for ITSA are not available between 2000 and 2003. The Appeals Service became a departmental agency in April 2000.
	The rate of staff sickness for The Appeals Service prior to April 2000 is therefore not available. The Contributions Agency was transferred to the Inland Revenue in 1999.
	The rate of staff sickness in the Department's remaining constituent agencies between 1994 and 2001 is summarised below. The figures represent the average number of working days lost per staff year.
	
		
			 Year(19) 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 ES 11.3 12.4 12.1 13.0 11.0 11.5 11.8 12.8 
			 CSA 11.6 13.4 12.3 11.9 11.1 12.1 11.1 11.0 
			 BA 12.4 12.7 12.3 12.5 11.1 11.0 11.1 10.6 
			 DSS 12.7 10.5 9.0 9.9 8.1 8.5 7.6 9.4 
			 CA 11.3 12.5 12.0 11.1 9.2 — — — 
			 TAS — — — — — — (20)10.4 9.6 
			 ITSA 8.4 9.7 8.9 8.7 7.9 7.1 11.1 — 
			 HSE 8.6 9.1 8.7 10.0 9.4 9.6 8.6 7.9 
		
	
	(19) Calendar Years
	(20) Staff sickness rate for the period April 2000—December 2000.
	ES = Employment Service
	CSA = Child Support Agency
	BA = Benefits Agency
	DSS = Department for Social Security
	CA = Contributions Agency
	TAS = The Appeals Service
	ITSA = Information Technology Services Agency
	HSE = Health and Safety Executive
	Figures for 2002 are currently being collected and will be published later this year. In 1998 the Cabinet Office set targets to reduce sickness absenteeism by 20 per cent. at the end of 2001 and by 30 per cent. at the end of 2003. This equated to a target for all agencies of 9.5 days by December 2001 and 8 days for the Department by December 2003. The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to meeting this target by continuing to manage sickness absence effectively.

Pension Schemes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many workers are in (a) defined contribution and (b) final salary occupational schemes; and how many and what proportion of those workers are contracted out of the state scheme.

Ian McCartney: Partial preliminary results from the GAD 2000 survey have been published but have not yet ybeen fully validated and do not give details of public sector scheme membership.
	The figures show active membership of occupational pension schemes at the time the survey was carried out, rather than the total membership throughout the 1995–96 tax year.
	
		Thousand
		
			  Type of scheme 
			 1995 totals Final salary Defined contribution 
		
		
			 All occupational schemes 8,950 1,060 
			 Numbers contracted out 8,305 460 
			 Proportion contracted out (percentage) 93 43 
		
	
	Source:
	The GAD 1995 Survey of Occupational Pension Schemes.

Textile Industry (Redundant Staff)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what retraining programme his Department supports for redundant staff of the textile industry.

Nick Brown: Jobcentre Plus offers assistance to help companies handle any significant reduction in staffing they may have to make, and help to those employees who are affected in identifying alternative jobs or any training they require.
	We have introduced the Rapid Response Service to provide support for people affected by redundancies including those in the textile industries and help them make the transition into sustainable new jobs. The nature of the help provided by the service is tailored to the needs of the individuals, the employer and the local labour market. This can include offering information, advice and guidance to those affected, help with job search, facilitating retraining where necessary or developing customised retraining programmes. People affected by redundancy can also have early access to Jobcentre Plus programmes such as the new deals and work-based learning for adults.
	We offer a range of training opportunities to ensure that unemployed people, including those made redundant from the textile industry, have the skills and experience they need to find and remain at work. Work Based Learning for Adults provides people with real work experience and the opportunity to develop job-related skills. We have developed Ambition programmes to help unemployed and disadvantaged people gain the right skills to meet the needs of employers in key sectors such as construction, retail, information technology and energy.
	We, along with colleagues in the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Trade and Industry, have asked the regional development agencies to lead in the development of the frameworks for regional employment and skills action (FRESAs). This strategic partnership of organisations includes Jobcentre Plus, the CBI, the TUC, the Learning and Skills Council and local authorities. The work of the FRESAs will provide a co-ordinated strategy for skills in each region, ensuring a more efficient and co-ordinated service for employers and individuals alike. Each region has had a Framework in place since October 2002.

Unallocated Expenditure

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the current unallocated provision in his Department's total resource and capital budget for 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The Departmental Unallocated Provision for the financial year 2003–04 is £105.088 million.

Winter Fuel Payment/Concessionary TV Licence

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the administrative costs of (a) the winter fuel allowance and (b) the free TV licence for the over 75s, in each year from 1998–99 to 2003–04 (planned).

Ian McCartney: Information is not currently available in the format requested. The Department now accounts for its administration and benefit expenditure by Strategic Objective, as set out in its Public Service Agreements (PSA), and by individual Requests for Resources (RfRs), as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts.

HEALTH

Alcohol Strategy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the alcohol strategy will ensure that young people with underlying emotional or mental health problems be assessed and where necessary referred to tier 3 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Hazel Blears: The Government are committed to implementing the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy by 2004. The strategy will be prepared by the Cabinet Office strategy unit, who will consider a wide range of issues including health service needs and the needs of vulnerable young people. The strategy will be published in summer 2003.
	The capacity of the child and adolescent mental health services to respond to a range of needs—including those of young people whose alcohol problems have underlying emotional/mental health causes—is steadily improving. However, appropriate assessment and referral arrangements are for local services to determine.

Nutritional Health

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research projects his Department is sponsoring into the links between poor diet and specific diseases; and what plans he has for future research.

Hazel Blears: Through the policy research programme, the Department has funded a programme of research, in two phases and with a total value of about £2.5 million, which has addressed priorities important to improving nutritional health.
	The first phase, from 1994 to 1997, which was commissioned and managed jointly with the Medical Research Council (MRC), focused specifically on the relationship between nutritional factors and clinical outcome and, in particular on the role of diet and nutrition in the prevention and development of cancers and cardiovascular disease.
	The second phase, from 1997 to 2002, included studies that looked at facilitators and barriers to good nutritional health, obesity and interventions aimed at achieving recommended dietary changes, particularly in low-income groups. Still looking at the dietary risk factors linking to cardiovascular disease and cancers, this phase of the programme also included work on nutritional aspects of bone health.
	This time limited programme of research has now been completed and the Department is currently producing an overview of findings from the second phase, the purpose of which is to highlight key messages for policy and practice. The Department is also currently funding a systematic review of the facilitators and barriers to healthy eating for children aged 4 to 10 years, having just completed a similar review for young people.
	The Department has no immediate plans to commission additional work following on from this programme, but further studies that link poor diet and specific diseases might emerge as priorities under future bidding rounds for policy research programme funding.
	In addition, the Department has funded, via the National Asthma Campaign managed programme, a study examining the effect of dietary supplementation with magnesium or vitamin C in asthma.
	The main Government agency for research into the causes and treatments of disease is the MRC, which receives its funding from the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. The MRC has a large portfolio covering all aspects of nutrition from basic research to clinical trials. In 2001–02 the MRC spent an estimated £316.6 million on its nutrition portfolio.
	Included in this figure is the work being carried out at the MRC resource centre for human nutrition research, the Dunne Nutrition Unit in Cambridge and the international nutrition group in Gambia. Examples of the research covered in the portfolio are projects designed to test the hypothesis that nutrition during infancy and childhood has a significant impact on health, neuro-cognitive development and later propensity to disease, and projects designed to identify the principal molecular, cellular and genetic mechanisms by which poor maternal nutrition might impair the early development of the mammalian embryo.

Acrylamide

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the research commissioned by the Food Standards Agency into the prevalence of acrylamide in cooked and prepared food.

Hazel Blears: Following the Swedish research published in April 2002, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) commissioned its own work, published in May 2002, which confirmed these initial findings. Since then, the FSA has played a significant role in contributing to European and international efforts to develop an understanding of acrylamide in food.
	The FSA is currently negotiating contracts with organisations successful in a recent tender exercise for research projects in the following areas:
	Identification of the mechanism of formation of acrylamide in cooked foods, with the aim of recommending possible means of controlling acrylamide formation.
	Identification of potential precursors in food and investigation of the relationship between processing parameters such as ingredients, cooking temperatures etc and the formation of acrylamide, with a view to identifying methods to reduce levels in cereal-based food.
	Assessment of the level of acrylamide in the United Kingdom diet.
	The Agency also recently issued a further call for research proposals investigating the effect of domestic cooking on acrylamide levels in food.

NHS Salaries

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list posts in acute hospital trusts carrying a salary of more than £100,000;

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS posts are paid a salary in excess of £100,000 in each national health service trust in England.

John Hutton: Information on the numbers of employees for whom information is available centrally whose remuneration in 2001–02 was over £100,000 has been placed in the Library. These figures largely cover medical consultants. The figures refer to all National Health Service trusts.

Asylum Seekers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many registered asylum seekers have received dialysis treatment from the NHS in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: holding answer 11 February 2003
	This information is not held centrally.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Service Framework for Children will include guidance concerning the early diagnosis and treatment of attention deficient disorder and attention deficit hyper-activity disorder.

Jacqui Smith: The national service framework for children, young people and maternity services will raise standards of care for children generally within the national health service, local authority social services and education services.
	A small number of exemplars will be developed to illustrate the main principles, although no decision has been made on the conditions to be covered.

Blood Stocks

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the level of blood stocks available to NHS hospitals in the United Kingdom.

Hazel Blears: For the past three years national health service hospitals in England have received all the blood they need. On 6 February 2003, 63,770 units of blood were held centrally. This represents seven days supply. At any one time, a further two days supply of blood are being processed by the National Blood Service.
	Information on the current levels of blood stocks in Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of the devolved Administrations. While the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved, responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.

Brighton Body Positive Project

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the future funding (a) through the AIDS support grant and (b) from the Brighton and Hove PCT of the Brighton Body Positive Project;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the work of the Brighton Body Positive Project;
	(3)  what the impact will be on public funding for the Brighton Body Positive Project of changes in the way the AIDS support grant is allocated.

Hazel Blears: The Department values the important contribution that voluntary organisations like Brighton Body Positive can make to services for people with HIV. The future funding of Brighton Body Positive will be for the local commissioners of HIV services to decide taking account of local priorities and available resources.
	The review of the AIDS support grant is currently being finalised. Introduction of the revised formula from April 2003 will be managed to avoid destabilising existing services in areas where funding is reduced.
	The review is aimed at addressing the changing nature of the HIV epidemic in England, including the social care needs of families and children affected by HIV.

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many communications to social services departments regarding procedures for dealing with vulnerable children have been issued by his Department since 25 February 2000.

Jacqui Smith: Communications to social services departments regarding procedures for dealing with vulnerable children since February 2000 have included:
	the "Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (April 2000)";
	together with, "Assessing Children in Need and their Families: Practice Guidance (April 2000)";
	supplementary guidance to "Working Together to Safeguard Children (December 1999)" guidance focusing on "Safeguarding Children Involved In Prostitution (June 2000)";
	guidance focusing on "Complex Child Abuse Investigations: Inter-Agency Issues (May 2002)";
	supplementary guidance to "Working Together to Safeguard Children (December 1999)" focusing on "Safeguarding Children in whom Illness is Induced or Fabricated by Carers with Parenting Responsibilities (August 2002)";
	"Learning from Past Experience—A Review of Serious Case Reviews (June 2002)";
	my letter of 28 January 2002, Child Protection Responsibilities of Primary Care Trusts;
	my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health's letter of 28 January 2003 reminding trusts of their responsibilities to children, particularly those relating to child protection;
	Local Authority Circular (2000)18 "Amendment to guidance to local authority social services departments on visits by children to special hospitals";
	Local Authority Circular (2001)27 "Access to education for children and young people with medical needs";
	Local Authority Circular (2002)17 "Children missing from care and from home: good practice guidance";
	Local Authority Social Services Letter (2001)2 "The Children and Families court advisory and support service (CAFCASS) and complaints about the functioning of child protection conferences"; and
	Local Authority Social Services Letter (2002)4 "Guidance on accommodating children in need and their families".

Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what central database is kept of children in the care of Social Services who go missing from their usual place of residence.

Jacqui Smith: Every English local authority is required to submit an annual statistical return to the Department, which includes information about the numbers of children who have gone missing from care in their area over a 12 month period.
	"Children Missing from Care and Home—a guide to good practice" was issued to every English local authority in November 2002, under Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970. The guidance requires that where a child in care is assessed to be missing, social services should pass on this information to the police who should then ensure that their details are included on the police national computer.

Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many communications to NHS trusts regarding procedures for dealing with children suspected of suffering harm at the hands of their carers have been issued by his Department since 25 February 2000.

Jacqui Smith: Communications to national health service trusts regarding procedures for dealing with children suspected of suffering harm at the hands of their carers include:
	"the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (April 2000)";
	together with, "Assessing Children in Need and their Families: Practice Guidance (April 2000)";
	supplementary guidance to "Working Together to Safeguard Children (December 1999)" focusing on "Safeguarding Children Involved In Prostitution (June 2000)";
	guidance focusing on "Complex Child Abuse Investigations: Inter-Agency Issues (May 2002)"
	supplementary guidance to "Working Together to Safeguard Children (December 1999)" focusing on "Safeguarding Children in whom Illness is Induced or Fabricated by Carers with Parenting Responsibilities (August 2002)";
	my letter of 28 January 2002 "Child Protection Responsibilities of Primary Care Trusts";
	my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health's letter of 28 January 2003 reminding trusts of their responsibilities to children, particularly those relating to child protection and;
	Revised Health Service Circular HSC 1999/160 (issued in August 2000) "Visits by Children to Ashworth, Broadmoor and Rampton Hospitals Directions".

Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met a delegation of (a) children in care and (b) local authority social service directors to discuss improvements in educating children in care; and when he next plans to do so.

Jacqui Smith: I meet regularly with representatives of the Association of Directors of Social Services to discuss a range of children's services issues including the educational achievement of children in care. The last meeting took place on 18 December 2002. The next meeting is scheduled for 18 March 2003.
	Though I have not met recently with a delegation of children in care, I am kept informed of their views through the Quality Protects national reference group. The group comprises children and young people in care as well as young people who have left care. The group was established to provide a means by which Government can hear the views of children and young people on how the Quality Protects programme is working on the ground.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers there are in England; how many of them are receiving treatment from the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The Department of Health does not routinely collect statistics on the prevalence of individual conditions. The report of the independent chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgicencephalomyelitis working group, published in January 2002, estimated a population prevalence of around 0.2 to 0.4 per cent, in adults and around 0.07 per cent.in children.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidance he has issued to hospital trusts and PCTs on the provision of services to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: We have issued no guidance to hospital trusts and primary care trusts on the provision of services to patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).
	In October 2002 however, we did make the National Health Service aware, through the Chief Executive's Bulletin and the GP Bulletin, of the guidance produced by Action for ME called Guidance on the management of CFS/ME.

Coronary Heart Disease

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died from coronary heart disease in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997; and what measures his Department has taken to help reduce deaths from coronary heart disease in South Tyneside.

Hazel Blears: Statistical returns of deaths attributed to coronary heart disease are currently available for the period 1997–2001, and are shown in the table.
	
		Deaths from coronary heart disease(21), 1997 to 2001(22)
		
			 Year Jarrow parliamentary constituency South Tyneside unitary authority North East Government Office Region United Kingdom 
		
		
			  
			 1997 243 478 7,158 140,209 
			 1998 206 428 7,097 138,110 
			 1999 218 404 6,550 132,024 
			 2000 212 384 6,161 124,063 
			 2001 179 324 5,955 120,957 
		
	
	Notes:
	Deaths selected using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 410–414, and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes 120–125. ICD-9 codes were used to classify these deaths from 1997 to 2000 in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and from 1997 to 1999 inScotland. ICD-10 codes were used in subsequent years.
	Years in which deaths occurred in England & Wales. Years in which deaths were registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
	Sources:
	England and Wales—Office for National Statistics
	Scotland—General Register Office for Scotland
	Northern Ireland—General Register Office for Northern Ireland
	The Government are committed to tackling the historical social and geographical inequalities of the impact of coronary heart disease (CHD). We are taking action now to remedy these inequalities through the implementation of the national service framework for CHD, which sets clear national standards for the prevention and treatment of CHD.
	In the area of CHD prevention, one example of the local implementation of these initiatives is that National Health Service smoking cessation services in Gateshead and South Tyneside Health authority helped over 4,000 people to give up smoking for at least four weeks between April 2000 and March 2002. South Tyneside Primary Care Trust has also been invited by the New Opportunities Fund to make an application for a Five-a-day grant to increase awareness of and access to fruit and vegetables.
	In the area of CHD diagnosis, there has been considerable expansion of diagnostic angiography services locally over recent years, with a New Opportunities Fund financed laboratory established in Sunderland to supplement a new Gateshead laboratory.
	In the field of primary care, at least 84 per cent, of patients who have suffered a heart attack are now being prescribed life-saving statins. A table showing the rate of increase of the prescription of statins in South Tyneside and nationally over the last three years, has been placed in the Library.
	One of the aims of the Patient Choice initiative which has been in place since July last year is to reduce the impact of regional variations in secondary treatment provision for CHD patients. Under this initiative, CHD patients who have been waiting more than six months for a revascularisation procedure are offered the opportunity to be treated at a hospital or clinic of their choice, which may be either another NHS hospital or a hospital or clinic in the private sector. This and other associated initiatives are currently offering the possibility of shorter waits for treatment to patients in South Tyneside and many other areas, and local NHS service providers are keen to encourage eligible patients to take part.
	There has been little progress made in changes to lower emissions in the last few years, except during the last year, when LPG vehicles have been added to the choice list as they become available from manufacturers. We hope to replace our pool car fleet with LPG vehicles and will be reviewing our choice list before the end of 2003 to include mor of these.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 25 November from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Anne France;
	(2)  why he has not replied to the letter to him dated 25 November from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Anne France.

Alan Milburn: A reply was sent to my right hon. Friend on 10 February.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 2 December from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Z. Daugavietis;
	(2)  why he has not replied to the letter to him dated 2 December from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mr. Z. Daugavietis;
	(3)  when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 2 December from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Z. Daugavietis.

Alan Milburn: A reply was sent to my right hon. Friend on 10 February.

Data Protection Act

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many subject access requests for information under the Data Protection Act 1998 were received by his Department in each of the last three years; and how many were (a) fulfilled in full within the statutory period, (b) fulfilled in full beyond the statutory period, (c) fulfilled in part and (d) have not been fulfilled, in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: holding answer Tuesday 21 January 2003
	The table below sets out the number of requests, on an annual basis, received since 1 March 2000, when the Act came into force. Figures in the last column represent requests that have been made where work is in progress or where more information from the data subject is awaited.
	
		Requests fulfilled:
		
			  Within statutory period Beyond statutory period In part Not fulfilled/work in progress 
		
		
			 1 Mar 2000 to 31 Dec 2000 0 2 — — 
			 1 Jan 2001 to 31 Dec 2001 10 8 — — 
			 1 Jan 2002 to 31 Dec 2002 161 105 — 5 
		
	
	Note:Includes the Department of Health, Medicines Control Agency, Medical Devices Agency, NHS Pensions Agency, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency.
	Of 105 requests fulfilled beyond the statutory period in 2002, five were from the NHS Pensions Agency, and 100 from the Department of Health.
	The Department aims to respond to requests within the statutory period and allocates resources to meet anticipated numbers of requests. Requests over the past three years have averaged three or four per month on a steady upward trend. The number of complex requests relating to contact over many years with staff in different areas of the Department has also been increasing. Each of these requires substantial effort to collect and analyse the data requested.
	In June 2002, 86 requests were received from hon. Members. In July, seven of nine requests were from hon. Members. This peak of demand stretched the resources available, even though additional staff were engaged quickly.
	The delays reported by the NHS Pensions Agency were associated with a transfer of responsibility for subject access requests and are not expected to occur again.

Departmental Website

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the ease of use of the Department of Health website.

David Lammy: A programme of research among users of the Department's website started in autumn 2001. This extensive work used a variety of methods, such as face to face and telephone interviews, group work and online surveys, to assess the needs of professional and lay users of the website.
	The initial objective was to inform changes to the site design, notably to the home page and top-level section pages, which were implemented during 2002. These re-designs were supported by usability testing—observing users carrying out specified tasks.
	Follow-up research was conducted late in 2002 to assess progress and further inform future development.
	Based on the findings of both these research exercises, we are now progressing major improvements to the website, which will address the key needs of users; namely the site structure, the search engine and the consistency of design and navigation.
	A group of users is being consulted as this work moves forward to ensure that the resulting changes will better enable the site to meet user requirements.

Departmental Website

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times his Department's (a) website and (b) website search engine crashed in each of the last three years; and what the length of time of each outage was.

David Lammy: Information on the Department of Health website outages has only been collected since hosting was taken over by a new internet service provider on 21 June 2002.
	The figures for the total downtime per month and the percentage of uptime for the Department's website, www.doh.gov.uk, are shown in table 1. We cannot provide a figure for the number of individual outages for the Department's website.
	The figures for the total number of outages and the maximum total downtime per month for the Department's search engine, http://search2.openobjects.com/kbroker/doh/search.isp, are shown in table 2.
	
		Table 1: Website outage figures for www.doh.gov.uk (July 2002-January 2003)
		
			 Month/year Total down time (mins) Total uptime (percentage) 
		
		
			 July 2002 137 99.7 
			 August 2002 239 99.5 
			 September 2002 759 98.3 
			 October 2002 459 98.9 
			 November 2002 203 99.6 
			 December 2002 0 100 
			 January 2003 0 100 
			 Total 1,797 99.5 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Website outage figures for Department of Health search engine (July 2002 -January 2003)
		
			 Month/year Total number of outages Maximum total downtime (mins) 
		
		
			 July 2002 1 60 
			 August 2002 0 — 
			 September 2002 0 — 
			 October 2002 0 — 
			 November 2002 0 — 
			 December 2002 1 60 
			 January 2003 0 — 
			 Total 2 120

Diabetes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, broken down by age.

David Lammy: This information is not available in the form requested.

Dialysis Treatment

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have received dialysis treatment from the NHS in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: holding answer 11 February 2003
	Figures for the number of patients receiving hospital-based haemodialysis, home haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are available from Renal Survey data. Surveys were undertaken in 1993, 1995 and 1998.
	
		
			  Number of hospital haemodialysis patients in England Number of home haemodialysis patients in England Number of peritoneal dialysis patients in England Total number of dialysis patients in England 
		
		
			 1993 3,899 806 4,340 9,045 
			 1995 5,383 725 4,880 10,988 
			 1998 7,788 516 5,101 13,405 
		
	
	A further survey has been commissioned to collect data in 2002.

Doctors

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of newly qualified doctors joined the NHS in each of the past 10 years.

Jacqui Smith: Pre-registration house officers (PRHOs) are doctors who, having graduated from medical school, must successfully complete a year of work in the national health service in order to achieve full registration with the General Medical Council.
	The table shows the number of PRHOs in England at 30 September in the appropriate year and graduate output from medical school at 31 July for each of those years. We do not collect data on the number of junior doctors joining the NHS each year.
	Between 1992 and 2002, the number of PRHOs has increased from 3,040 to 3,680; a rise of 640, or 21 per cent.
	
		Medical return—First Registrable Medical Qualification—output during the year ended 31 July 1992 to 31 July 2002 and numbers of PRHO's at 30 September
		
			 Year Total output England PRHOs England 
		
		
			 1992 2,790 3,040 
			 1993 2,760 3,090 
			 1994 2,870 3,020 
			 1995 2,910 3,220 
			 1996 2,980 3,220 
			 1997 3,030 3,360 
			 1998 3,260 3,450 
			 1999 3,100 3,540 
			 2000 3,370 3,640 
			 2001 3,290 3,680 
			 2002 3,280 (21)— 
		
	
	(21) Information not yet available.
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census (to nearest 10).

Emergency Readmissions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures are collected on the reasons for people over the age of 75 being admitted to hospital as an emergency readmission within (a) 14 days and (b) 28 days of their discharge from hospital.

Jacqui Smith: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data include information on the reason for an admission, including a readmission, to hospital. However, only overall readmission numbers and rates are identified and calculated. The reason for an admission for people readmitted following a recent discharge has not routinely been drawn from HES and analysed.

Food Supplements

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health at what level of potency caustic soda and similar chemicals will be permitted in food supplements under the draft Food Supplements (England) Regulations; and what assessment he has made of the safety of the inclusion of caustic soda and similar chemicals in food supplements.

Hazel Blears: Neither the Food Supplements Directive nor the implementing Food Supplements (England) Regulations set levels at which the substances in the permitted lists may be used in the manufacture of food supplements.
	The lists of permitted substances in the Food Supplements Directive were drawn directly from positive lists in existing European Union legislation, including that on infant formulae and weaning foods, and substances on the lists have already been assessed for safety and bioavailability by the EU Scientific Committee on Food.
	As for other foods, it is the responsibility of manufacturers to ensure that food supplements comply with the food safety requirements of the Food Safety Act 1990. Calcium oxide, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and potassium hydroxide are permitted to be used in food at levels necessary for a technological function, such as regulation of acidity. They are used at low concentrations that do not affect the safety of the food.

General Practitioners

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the three month general practitioner vacancy rate figures are, broken down by primary care trust in England.

Jacqui Smith: The three month general practitioner vacancy rate published in the Department's February 2002 vacancy survey was 2.7 per cent. for England. The vacancy rate is estimated from results of a sample of 1,000 questionnaires sent to GP practices.
	In previous years there has been no way to identify which primary care trust (PCT) a vacancy was in; especially since the last survey took place prior to the formation of the existing PCTs.
	In view of this and the relatively small size of the sample, it is not possible to produce reliable estimates of the vacancy rate at PCT level.

Health Protection Agency

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that preparations for establishing the Health Protection Agency do not add significantly to the workload of the agencies responsible for responding to acts of bio-terrorism.

Hazel Blears: We intend that the Health Protection Agency (HPA) will be responsible for a number of functions currently performed by a number of different bodies. The amalgamation of these responsibilities into a single agency is designed to strengthen specialist support for health protection and health emergency planning.
	We are working closely with the various agencies concerned to ensure that the transfer of responsibilities to the HPA goes smoothly.

Kava-kava

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he proposes to bring into force the Kava-Kava in Food (England) Regulations 2002.

Hazel Blears: The Kava-Kava in Food (England) Regulations 2002 came into force on 13 January 2003.

Macular Degeneration

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if his Department has started making arrangements to fast-track verteporfin PDT treatment for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration;
	(2)  whether he will guarantee continued provision of verteporfin PDT for patients with predominantly classic CNV associated with wet age-related macular degeneration;
	(3)  if he will provide funding for a clinical study into the (a) optimum treatment regimens, (b) long-term outcomes, (c) quality of life and (d) costs of verteporfin PDT for patients with predominantly classic CNV associated with wet age-related macular degeneration.

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will fund a clinical study into the photodynamic treatment of age-related macular degeneration, with particular reference to subfoveal choroidal neovascularisation cases with visudyne.

David Lammy: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is carrying out an appraisal of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a treatment for age-related macular degeneration. It has not yet published any guidance to the National Health Service on this topic.
	NICE prepared its final appraisal determination on PDT and circulated it to consultees on 16 January 2003 We understand this document has been appealed against. NICE will now consider any appeals before publishing its final guidance.

Medical Procedures

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many hospitals are capable of intraoperative cell salvage of blood supplies during surgery;
	(2)  what has been the impact of intraoperative cell salvage on blood supplies to hospital operating theatres.

Hazel Blears: This information is not collected. The Department published Health Service Circular 2002/009, "Better Blood Transfusion—Appropriate Use of Blood", on 4 July 2002, available on www.doh.gov.uk/publications/coinh.html.
	This circular asks national health service trusts and primary care trusts to review and explore the use of effective alternatives to donor blood and the appropriate use of autologous blood transfusion; pre-donation, peri-operative and post operative cell salvage by April 2003. An audit to review the implementation of this guidance will be carried out later this year.

Medium-Secure Units

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in (a) NHS medium-secure units and (b) medium-secure units in the independent sector are awaiting discharge or transfer; what proportion of these patients have no place identified to which they can be discharged or transferred; and how many have been waiting for more than three months.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 6 February 2003
	The latest available information, at 31 December 2001, indicates that the number of patients awaiting discharge or transfer from national health service medium- secure units was 93 and medium-secure units in the independent sector was 48. There is no current information on waiting times.

Mexico

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 23 January 2003, Official Report, column 477W, on Mexico, if he will make a statement on the usefulness of memorandums of understanding between the United Kingdom and foreign Governments.

Alan Milburn: Memoranda of Understanding are helpful in providing a basis for a working relationship between two Governments with the aim of furthering knowledge and co-operation on health issues and ultimately contributing to the improvement of the health of their populations.

Ministerial Travel

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times since 2001 he has taken flights on departmental duties in the UK; how many of these were (a) charter flights, (b) first or club class and (c) by helicopter; and who accompanied him on each trip.

David Lammy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made two business class return flights and one single business class flight. He was accompanied by one private secretary and one special adviser on each occasion.
	My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, has made four club class return flights. He was accompanied by one civil servant on each occasion.
	The Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton) has made five business class return and three single business class flights. He was accompanied by one civil servant on seven occasions and travelled alone for one other.
	The Under-Secretary of State for public health, my hon. Friend the Member for Salford (Ms Blears) has made one first class return and one single charter flight. She was accompanied by one civil servant on each occasion.
	All travel was undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Library.

MMR Vaccination

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of GPs reached the (a) 70 per cent., (b) 80 per cent. and (c) 90 per cent. target rate for the MMR vaccination last year;
	(2)  how many bonuses were and how much in bonuses was paid out last year to GPs for performing MMR vaccinations on new-born babies.

Hazel Blears: MMR vaccination is recommended for all children shortly after their first birthday, with a reinforcing dose before school entry.
	In 2001–02, the latest annual return, total payment to general practitioners providing general medical services was £3.145 billion, of which the sums attributable to childhood immunisation targets, including the first dose of MMR, were:
	£53.4 million to some 22,430 GPs for the higher target.
	£1.9 million to some 1,720 GPs for the lower target.
	The percentage of unrestricted principals receiving a target payment for childhood immunisation in the quarter ending 31 March 2001 was 96 per cent. made up of:
	7 per cent. meeting the 70 per cent. target.
	89 per cent. meeting the 90 per cent. target.
	There is no 80 per cent. target. All figures concern only those GPs providing general medical services. Personal medical service GPs have their pay and any targets determined through individual contracts with their primary care trust.

Mobile Phones

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mobile phones were used by (a) Ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in his Department in each year since 1997; how many were (i) lost and (ii) stolen; and what their cost was.

David Lammy: Historical data on the users and numbers of central Department of Health mobile phones are not retained. Detailed information is available only for the current financial year. In financial year 2002–03 there are currently 978 mobile phones in use, of which nine are used by Ministers and special advisers.
	The costs of purchasing mobile phones for use by Ministers, special advisers and officials in the Department in each financial year since 1997 are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Financial year Costs (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 9,578 
			 1998–99 6,740 
			 1999–2000 6,254 
			 2000–01 5,063 
			 2001–02 4,891 
			 2002–03 (22)5,730 
		
	
	(22) To date
	The Department takes very seriously the protection of all its assets, including mobile phones. All users are made aware of their obligation to safeguard Departmental property. We investigate all losses and our security procedures are kept under constant review. Departmental records do not differentiate between lost and stolen mobile phones.
	Figures for the numbers of lost or stolen mobile phones for the financial years 1997–98 to 2002–03 are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Financial year Numbers lost/stolen Replacement cost (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 19 769 
			 1998–99 19 691 
			 1999–2000 26 557 
			 2000–01 43 1,332 
			 2001–02 37 987 
			 2002–03 34 2,426 
		
	
	(23) To date
	Costs for lost or stolen mobile phones in 2002–03 are higher than for previous years, as most of these phones were lost or stolen within the first two years of purchase and therefore incur higher replacement costs.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department takes to ensure that medical devices which are due to be appraised by NICE have been assessed by clinicians;
	(2)  whether his Department provides extra funds for clinicians to assess new medical technologies before they are appraised by NICE.

Hazel Blears: Manufacturers of new medical technologies are responsible for developing the clinical evidence base to demonstrate safety and efficacy for regulatory purposes and to promote their introduction into general clinical practice.
	In selecting topics for appraisal by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, one factor which Ministers take into account is the adequacy of the evidence base to support an appraisal.

NHS Bodies

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the combined allocated budgets are for (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 for the Medicines Control Agency and the Medical Devices Agency (i) in cash terms and (ii) on a full resource budgeting basis.

David Lammy: Subject to parliamentary approval, the Medicines Control Agency and the Medical Devices Agency will combine to form the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) with effect from 1 April 2003.
	The new Agency will operate as a trading fund and its expenditure will be financed mainly by income from charges for the services it provides to the pharmaceutical industry and other customers. The Department will, however, purchase medical devices services from the MHRA and may also, from time to time, issue medium term loans to support capital expenditure or other developments.
	The level of Departmental funding for medical devices services in 2003–04 and subsequent years has yet to be finalised. The Department's main estimate for 2003–04 will include provision for the necessary funding in the MHRA's first year.

NHS Bodies

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the allocated budgets are for (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 for (i) the combined internal directorates of the Department of Health, (ii) NHS Estates Agency, (iii) NHS Pensions Agency and (iv) NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (A) in cash terms and (B) on a full resource budgeting basis.

David Lammy: Budgets for financial years covered by the 2002 Spending Review have not yet been finalised for the Department's internal directorates, the NHS Pensions Agency or the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency. As a trading fund, most of the expenditure of NHS Estates falls outside the Department's budgets. The future budget for services the Department purchases from NHS Estates has also not yet been finalised.

NHS Dentistry

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were registered with an NHS dentist in (a) the East Worthing and Shoreham constituency, (b) West Sussex and (c) the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority area in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The available information is for the period 1997 to 2001 for health authorities (HA). For 2002, the information is at primary care trust (PCT) level. These are shown in the tables together with the totals for Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority (StHA).
	Table 1 shows the number of registrations in East Surrey, West Surrey, East Sussex, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex HA area at 30 September in each of the years 1997 to 2001.
	Table 2 shows the number of registrations in Surrey and Sussex StHA area by PCT at 30 September 2002.
	
		Table 1: General Dental Service: number of registrations(24)in East Surrey, West Surrey, East Sussex, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex health authorities at 30 September 1997 to 2001
		
			 Thousand 
			 Health authority 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority 1,344 1,185 1,167 1,169 1,166 
			 East Surrey 205 182 166 176 173 
			 West Surrey 315 279 278 274 359 
			 East Sussex, Brighton and Hove 413 364 356 362 271 
			 West Sussex 410 359 367 357 363 
		
	
	(24) The registration number for September 1997 is not comparable with the later figures because of the change in the registration periods.
	
		Table 2: General Dental Service: number of registrations in Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority by primary care trust at 30 September 2002
		
			 Primary care trust Thousand 
		
		
			 Surrey and Sussex StHA 1,151 
			 Bexhill and Rother 35 
			 Hastings and St. Leonards 49 
			 Mid-Sussex 71 
			 East Elmbridge and Mid-Surrey 99 
			 East Surrey 72 
			 Guildford and Waverley 88 
			 North Surrey 86 
			 Woking 88 
			 Adur, Arun and Worthing 104 
			 Western Sussex 97 
			 Brighton and Hove City 120 
			 Eastbourne Downs 78 
			 Sussex Downs and Weald 77 
			 Crawley 37 
			 Horsham and Chanctonbury 49 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Registrations lapse if patients do not return to their dentists within 15 months. Registration rates will exclude patients who have not been to their GDS dentist within the past 15 months and patients who receive dental treatment from other NHS dental services.
	2. During the period 1997 to 2002, the registration numbers are affected by the change in the registration periods for adults and children. Also, the figures do not include patients attending the Dental Access Centres, which opened during the period, and whose patients are not registered.
	3. Registrations are included in the area of the dentist. The registration rates for some areas may be affected by some patients receiving their dental treatment in a different area from the one in which they live.
	4. Patients wishing to register with a GDS dentist can obtain details of dentists accepting new patients in their area by contacting NHS Direct.

NHS Trusts (Accommodation Sales)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those hospital trusts which have sold accommodation on their sites to housing associations; and on what terms.

David Lammy: We do not collect this information. The Department encourages the national health service to work with housing associations and other registered social landlords to provide a range of affordable, suitably located staff accommodation.
	Trusts are encouraged to lease their residential accommodation to housing associations on condition that they maintain it and let to staff on agreed terms, often through legally binding nomination rights which benefit staff.

NICE

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list each appraisal and guidance issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and its cost to the NHS.

Hazel Blears: Information of all appraisal guidance issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) with estimates of its cost to the NHS in England, distinguishing between one-off costs and annual recurrent costs has been placed in the Library. These estimates are based on those published by NICE itself; where the original estimate takes the form of a range, a mid-range value has been given.
	Similar estimates for clinical guidelines and other forms of guidance from NICE are not available.

Opportunities for All

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that mainstream programmes and targeted initiatives have (a) a focus on disabled children and young people and (b) targets and indicators monitored as part of Opportunities for All.

Jacqui Smith: All relevant mainstream health and social care programmes give priority to disabled children.
	In 1999 the Government published national objectives for children's social services, as part of the Quality Protects programme to improve children's services. This included specific objectives around disabled children and young people. To help local authorities achieve these objectives, we have earmarked funding for disabled children of £60 million over three years from the children's services special grant.
	As part of the development of the children's national service framework, which will set national standards for health and social care, we have prioritised services for disabled children and young people. An external working group has been established to focus on services for disabled children and make recommendations to Ministers on how they could be improved. The three cross-Government programmes for children: Sure Start; the Children's Fund; and Connexions all give priority to supporting disabled children and young people.
	The indicators in "Opportunity for all" are used to monitor progress in relation to the Government's strategy to tackle poverty and social exclusion. They have been selected to capture the multidimensional nature of poverty and to utilise the best available information. The indicators meet certain criteria, one of which is to be outcome focused rather than concentrating of inputs and process. All of the indicators are linked to departmental public service agreement targets, which are reviewed as part of spending review cycles.

Organ Donors

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the increased numbers of potential donors who have joined the organ donor register as a result of being asked to do so by the inclusion of a leaflet with their electoral registration form; what plans he has to confer with the Home Secretary to expand his initiative further; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: In 2000, my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Health and the then Home Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) wrote jointly to the chairmen of the association of electoral administrators and SOLACE'S electoral matters panel, inviting them to encourage their members to distribute organ donor leaflets via the electoral canvass.
	The Home Secretary has no powers to direct electoral registrations officers to send out non-electoral material. However, the aim is to encourage councils to join this initiative, which demonstrates how effective a truly local appeal can be. The scheme has already proved successful in many areas and we believe that it owes its success to the fact that it is locally inspired and embraces the local community spirit.

Palliative Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies there are for palliative care consultants in each strategic health authority area in England.

Jacqui Smith: The three-month vacancy rate for palliative care consultants in England has dropped from 7.4 per cent. in March 2001 to 5.2 per cent. in March 2002.
	The table shows three-month vacancy rates for palliative care consultants in each strategic health authority in England.
	
		Department of Health Vacancies Survey, March 2002 -- Vacancies in NHS Trusts by DHSC and Strategic Health Authority for Palliative Medicine Consultantsthree month vacancy rates numbers and staff in post
		
			  Palliative medicine (excluding HS staff) 
			  3 month vacancy rate % 3 month vacancy number Staff in post (whole-time equivalent) Staff in post (headcount) 
		
		
			 England 5.2 7 118 152 
			 Midlands and Eastern 0.0 0 27 31 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Hereford and Worcester (25)— 0 6 6 
			 Essex (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire (26)— 0 (26)— (26)— 
			 Trent (25)— 0 8 8 
			  
			 London 3.8 1 25 31 
			 North Central London (25)— 1 (25)— (25)— 
			 North East London (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			 North West London (25)— 0 9 11 
			 South East London (25)— 0 6 8 
			 South West London (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			  
			 Northern 9.8 4 32 47 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside (25)—0 0 5 8 
			 County Durham & Tees Valley (25)— 3 (25)— (25)— 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			 Greater Manchester (25)— 1 (25)— (25)— 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (25)— 0 (25)— 6 
			 South Yorkshire (25)— 0 (25)— (25)— 
			 West Yorkshire 0.0 0 10 14 
			 South 5.7 2 33 43 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire (25)— 1 8 12 
			  
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight (25)—
			 Kent and Medway (25)—
			 Somerset and Dorset (25)—
			 South West Peninsula (25)—
			 Surrey and Sussex 
			 Thames Valley 
			 Special HAs (26)— 0 (26)— (26)— 
		
	
	Three months vacancy:
	(25) Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March 2002
	(26) Three month vacancies which trust are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months (whole time equivalents)
	(27) Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post
	(28) Three month vacancy rates are calculated using staff in post from the Consultant Census, March 2002
	(29) Percentages are rounded to one decimal place
	(30) Figures where sum of staff in post and vacancies is less than 10
	(31) Figures where sum of staff in post and vacancies is zero.
	Staff in post:
	(32) Staff in post data is from the Mini Consultant Census, March 2002
	(33) Staff in post data excludes staff employed by Health Authorities, as vacancy information was only collected from Trusts, PCTs and Special Health Authorities
	(34) Figures where staff in post is five or less and greater than zero.
	(35) Figures where staff in post is zero.
	General Notes:
	(36) Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number
	(37) Calculating the vacancy rates using the above data may not equal the actual vacancy rates.
	(38) StHA figures are based on Trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provisional of healthcare
	(39) Medical and dental figures exclude staff in training
	Source:
	Department of Health Vacancies Survey March 2002
	Department of Health Consultant census March 2002

Parliamentary Questions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will answer questions ref. 87472, 87577, 89363, 89355, 89359, 89362, 89354, 89393 from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the replies that the Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton) gave on 20 January 2003, Official Report, column 133W and column 134W, and to the replies that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Salford (Ms Blears) gave on 20 January 2003, Official Report, column 126W, 29 January 2003, Official Report, columns 903–04W and 3 February 2003, Official Report, columns 102–03W. Replies were sent on Tuesday 4 February and Wednesday 5 February to the remaining questions.

Performance Bonuses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid out in bonus payments and to how many civil servants in 2001–02 related to performance in his Department.

David Lammy: In the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002, the Department paid a total of £397,600 in performance bonus payments to 782 staff.
	All bonus payments are performance related.

Primary Movement Exercise Programmes

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of primary movement exercise programmes.

David Miliband: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer my hon. Member to the reply I gave on 28 January, Official Report, column 780W.

Renal Patients

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has evaluated on the impact of the availability of choice of immuno suppressive agents on short and long-term outcomes for renal patients; what plans he has to allow the National Service Framework on Renal Services to enable access to choice and tailored treatment for each patient; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: We have asked the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to establish the clinical and cost-effectiveness of immunosuppressive regimens with regard to initial maintenance, acute rejection therapy in renal transplantion.

Renal Patients

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many units in the UK routinely carry out asystolic kidney organ donor operations; what plans he has to increase the number of units who carry out such operations; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what research has been carried out to compare the cost of sustaining a patient on dialysis whilst waiting for a kidney organ transplant to the cost of increasing the number of asystolic kidney donor operations; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: Successful transplantation of donor kidneys is by far the most clinically effective and cost-effective treatment for suitable patients with established renal failure. The average cost of maintaining a heamodialysis patient is estimated at £34,500 per annum, compared with £20,000 for the first year of a cadaveric kidney transplant and £6,500 per annum after the first year. Survival data from three transplants units show that the medium term outcomes of successful transplantation of non-heartbeating donor kidneys are as good as heartbeating donor transplants.
	In 2001–02 and 2002–03, UK Transplant funded seven national health service trusts to increase the number of non-heartbeating donor transplants.

Renal Services Framework

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to include in the National Service Framework on Renal Services (a) patient care pathways, from dialysis to transplantation, (b) long-term follow up clinics and (c) screening of key indicators, to include blood pressure and blood lipids; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he plans to include guidelines to ensure patient access to transplantation services for the National Service Framework on Renal Services; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  when the National Service Framework on Renal Services will be published; whether resources will be committed to ensure its implementation; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what plans he has to include standards for increasing organ donor numbers in the renal National Service Framework; whether this will include raising awareness of options including living related Donors; and if he will make a statement.

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether the National Service Framework on Renal Services will include guidelines to ensure patient access to transplantation services;
	(2)  whether the National Service Framework on Renal Services will be published in 2003; and if he will make a statement on the resources to be committed to ensure its implementation;
	(3)  whether the National Service Framework on Renal Services will include standards for increasing organ donor numbers, with particular reference to the Awareness of Living Related Donors Scheme;
	(4)  whether the National Service Framework on Renal Services will include patient care pathways from dialysis to transplantation, including provision for long-term follow-up clinics and screening of key indicators;
	(5)  whether the National Service Framework on Renal Services will include (a) information on (i) improving long term graft outcomes, (ii) maximising rejection prevention and (iii) minimising side-effects associated with anti-rejection drugs and (b) standards on providing information to patients on (A) treatment options, (B) survival rates and (C) outcomes;
	(6)  whether the National Service Framework on Renal Services will enable access to a choice of immunosuppressive agents to allow tailored treatment for patients.

David Lammy: The renal national service framework (NSF) will be published in due course. It will set national standards and provide a national direction for renal services that will need to be achieved over 10 years. There will be flexibility at local level to plan to meet local priorities and to use local innovation within the framework of the national standards.
	The issues of increasing and raising awareness of organ donation and access to transplantation services are within the scope of the renal NSF and will be considered fully during the NSF development process. Consideration will also be given to the patient care pathway and to the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease.

Ritalin

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of prescribing of Ritalin to children diagnosed with manic depression.

Jacqui Smith: We do not collect information on the prescribing levels of drugs for particular disorders. Amphetamines and related drugs, e.g. Ritalin, are specifically contra-indicated for the treatment of depression. Ritalin is therefore not an accepted treatment for manic depression.

Social Services Inspectorate

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the proposal to include the Social Services Inspectorate within the Council for Health Improvement.

Jacqui Smith: The Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) will not be merging with the Commission for Health Improvement.
	However from 2004 onwards, a new inspectorate for social care, the Commission for Social Care Inspection will be set up, subject to legislation. The new inspectorate will bring together the functions of the SSI and the social care functions of the National Care Standards Commission.

Surgical Instruments (Sterilisation)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Health Minister in the Scottish Executive and (b) the British Medical Association regarding the sterilisation of surgery instruments.

Hazel Blears: Officials in the Department have regular working level contacts with Scottish Executive officials to discuss matters of shared interest, including decontamination and the sterilisation of surgical instruments. Neither Ministers nor officials have had recent discussions with the British Medical Association to discuss decontamination, although officials do have discussions about decontamination with the medical and surgical Royal Colleges from time to time.

Vehicle Fleet

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual rate is at which his Department renews its vehicle fleet, by (a) volume and percentage for each category of vehicle, (b) type of power unit and (c) type of fuel; and what progress has been made on the replacement of vehicles on a lower emissions basis in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: The Department operates a fleet of 132 vehicles. Of this figure, 73 are petrol, 58 are diesel and one is liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
	The fleet has recently changed from leasing to purchasing vehicles. The annual rate at which the Department renews its vehicles under the existing lease scheme is three years to a maximum of five. The rate at which it renews its purchased vehicles is four years. The vehicle choice is restricted by the Department for Work and Pensions' other Government Department contract, which we also use. The driver makes choices for new vehicles from an approved choice list.
	We have vehicles ranging in engine size from 1400 cc. to no larger than 2400 cc. The lowest emissions figure is 157g/km. and the highest is 220g/km. The average emissions figure for the fleet is 168g/km.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Adult Day Centres

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the charging arrangements are for handicapped persons attending adult day centres in (a) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (b) England.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The East Riding of Yorkshire Council charges a flat rate of £2 per day for persons attending adult day centres. I understand that this will cease from April 2003. Thereafter, charges will reflect each individual's ability to pay.
	The Department issued statutory guidance, Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care and other non-residential Social Services, in November 2001, which councils in England are obliged to implement.
	A copy of the guidance is available at www. doh.qov.uk/scg/homecarecharqes.

Affordable Accommodation

Karen Buck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many units of affordable accommodation were secured via the planning process; and what proportion of all housing permissions this represented in each of the last five years in each local authority in London.

Tony McNulty: Information is not available in the form requested. The number of affordable dwellings secured through the planning system for each London borough is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Local authority 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 106 56 
			 Barnet 210 228 
			 Bexley 0 4 
			 Brent 330 290 
			 Bromley 0 8 
			 Camden 37 118 
			 City of London 0 0 
			 Croydon 169 127 
			 Ealing 11 324 
			 Enfield 327 25 
			 Greenwich 299 260 
			 Hackney 284 (40)— 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 500 
			 Haringey 91 85 
			 Harrow 158 184 
			 Havering 114 16 
			 Hillingdon 22 101 
			 Hounslow 100 75 
			 Islington 0 75 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 180 304 
			 Kingston upon Thames 64 163 
			 Lambeth 696 167 
			 Lewisham 47 193 
			 Merton 21 8 
			 Newham 14 88 
			 Redbridge 49 373 
			 Richmond upon Thames 67 191 
			 Southwark 53 133 
			 Sutton 0 140 
			 Tower Hamlets 0 1167 
			 Waltham Forest 8 8 
			 Wandsworth 65 516 
			 Westminster 126 56 
		
	
	(40) figure not provided by local authority
	Source:
	Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's annual Housing Statistical Appendices
	completed by local authorities.
	Information about the number of dwellings which all extant housing planning permissions could yield is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Prior to 2000–01 information about dwellings secured through planning policy was also not collected centrally.

Council Tax

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he gives to local authorities to reclaim council tax through (a) an attachment to earnings for those people who refuse to pay their council tax and (b) an attachment to pensions for those pensioners who refuse to pay their council tax; and what discussions he has had with the Department of Work and Pensions regarding the attachment to pensions for those pensioners who refuse to pay council tax.

Tony McNulty: Since its establishment on 29 May 2002, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has issued no guidance on these matters. Previously the former Department of the Environment published in September 1993 "Council Tax Practice Note No 9—Recovery and Enforcement" which includes guidance on attachment of earnings for council tax debt. Since then the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's predecessors have issued three circular information letters in 1998, 1999 and 2000 to local authorities containing further advice on attachment of earnings.
	The Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation publication "Council Tax Law and Practices" also contains advice on attachment of earnings for council tax debt. This is based on the Council Tax Practice note.
	Pensions are not attachable for council tax debt. No discussions with the Department of Work and Pensions about this matter have been undertaken.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Diana Organ: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he intends to raise the £25,000 ceiling on disabled facilities grants; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to raise the limit for mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant which was last raised from £20,000 to £25,000 in January 2002. The Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance)(England and Wales) Order 2002 gives local authorities a new wide ranging discretionary power which allows them to provide additional financial assistance for housing adaptations. This includes the ability to help with the purchase of a new property for the disabled person if this is a more cost-effective option than the adaptation of the existing property.

Fire Dispute

Peter Duncan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he last met the Secretary of State for Scotland to discuss the progress of the fire dispute in Scotland.

Nick Raynsford: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister meets with the Secretary of State for Scotland on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues, including the fire dispute.
	The Fire Service is a devolved matter in Scotland. My colleagues and I have been in frequent contact with colleagues in the Scottish Executive Justice Department. I last spoke to the Deputy Minister for Justice, Scottish Executive on Tuesday 4 February.

Fire Dispute

Peter Duncan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will not amend the Scotland Act 1998 as part of his proposed legislation on fire service pay and conditions.

Nick Raynsford: The UK Government have no such plans. The Fire Service is a devolved matter in Scotland. The UK Government are committed, under the Sewel Convention, to legislate on devolved matters at Westminster only with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament. Scottish Ministers share the UK Government's view that this dispute can and should be resolved through UK-wide negotiations.

Fire Dispute

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what income has been received by the Department from firefighter employers as a result of the recent fire strikes;
	(2)  how much money has been transferred between the Department and the Ministry of Defence as a result of the fire strikes, broken down by category;
	(3)  what the budget shortfall incurred by the Department is to date as a result of the fire strikes; and what budget cuts will be made to compensate for this shortfall;
	(4)  what the total cost incurred by the Government as a result of the fire strikes has been.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will pay money to the Ministry of Defence and receive income from firefighter employers on the basis of invoices for services provided and pay deducted as a result of the fire dispute. No money has been paid or received as yet.
	It is estimated that the cost to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to the end of January of providing emergency cover for the fire dispute will be about £70 million. Each extra day the military remains ready to provide cover costs up to about £1 million. The figures are necessarily approximate estimates and will remain so until invoices are received and audited. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has a three year spending programme and will be aiming to balance its spending commitments within resources available in the light of events.

Fire Service

Dave Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Bain report took into account past efficiency and modernisation measures that have been introduced by some fire authorities.

Nick Raynsford: The Independent Review of the Fire Service described examples of modernisation already in place in some fire brigades, but stated that implementation was patchy. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister wants to see effective modernisation implemented across the whole fire service.

Fire Service

Dave Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how he estimates the recommendations of the Bain report will change the quality of the fire service to the community.

Nick Raynsford: The Independent Review of the Fire Service, led by Sir George Bain, set out proposals for the reform of the Fire Service. The Government believe that reform will create a Fire Service that is better, safer and will save more lives. The Government will respond in detail to the recommendations in the Independent Review in a Fire White Paper later this year.

Fire Service

Dave Watts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, 
	(1)  whether he estimates that all fire authorities will have the same opportunity to introduce modernisation procedures;
	(2)  how local fire authorities will be able to increase pay of firefighters in cases where they have already introduced many of the changes recommended in the Bain report.

Nick Raynsford: The Independent Review of the Fire Service described examples of modernisation already in place in some Fire Brigades, but stated that implementation was patchy. Opportunities to introduce modernisation procedures will, therefore, vary.
	The Government will respond in detail to the recommendations in the Independent Review in a Fire White Paper later this year.
	As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister informed the House on 28 January 2003, Official Report, column 729, brigades should not be disadvantaged in any settlement if they have already implemented recognised modernisation procedures.

Fire Service (Shrewsbury)

Paul Marsden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact his plans for modernisation of the Fire Service would have on Shrewsbury fire station, with particular reference to manning levels.

Nick Raynsford: The Independent Review of the Fire Service led by Sir George Bain set out proposals for the reform of the Fire Service. The Government believe that reform will create a Fire Service that is better, safer and will save more lives. The Government will respond in detail to the recommendations in the Independent Review in a Fire White Paper later this year.
	The Independent Review recommended a new approach to fire cover, based on a thorough assessment of life threatening risks. Under this new approach, the deployment of firefighters would be for Fire Authorities and Chief Fire Officers to consult on locally, in the light of new advice which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will issue for consultation in the near future.

Housing (Pendle and Burnley)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many houses in (a) Pendle and (b) Burnley are (i) abandoned, (ii) empty and (iii) unfit.

Tony McNulty: Figures on abandonment are not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, preparatory work undertaken in Pendle and Burnley as part of the East Lancashire housing market renewal pathfinder will improve levels of data on a range of issues, including abandonment. Latest reported information on the total number of empty and unfit dwellings is presented as follows:
	
		Numbers of vacant and unfit dwellings as at 1 April 2002
		
			  Vacant dwellings Unfit dwellings 
		
		
			 Burnley 3,446 9,336 
			 Pendle 2,093 4,290 
		
	
	Sources:
	ODPM Housing Investment Programme HS Statistical Appendix 2002
	Housing Corporation RSR returns 2002

Housing Corporation

Gary Streeter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the administrative costs of the Housing Corporation were for 2001–02.

Tony McNulty: The amount of expenditure incurred by the Housing Corporation on administration in 2001–02 was £34.1 million. The corporation's administrative budget in the current year was originally set at £34.16 million.

Housing Policy

Patsy Calton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans there are to review housing policy to meet the needs of disabled children.

Tony McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has already introduced a number of policies which will help to meet the needs of disabled children. On 10 February I announced a substantial increase in next year's budget for Disabled Facilities Grant to £99 million, an increase of £11 million over this year. Jointly with the Department of Health, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also issued new draft guidance on how a housing adaptations service for disabled people can be more effectively delivered by local authorities.
	Under the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002 local authorities now have a new discretionary power which will enable financial assistance to be given to help a disabled person purchase another home, where this is more cost-effective than adapting the existing home.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also has a target to ensure that by 2010 all houses in the social sector are of a decent standard and to increase the proportion of vulnerable households in the private sector who live in decent housing.'Vulnerable' has been defined to include families with disabled children.
	Recent changes to building regulations mean that new houses must now be designed to manage more easily the needs of a family which includes a disabled person.
	The Supporting People programme, which goes live on 1 April 2003, will also help to ensure that the housing related support needs of households with disabled children are appropriately met.

Local Government Funding

Gregory Barker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what plans he has to meet a cross-party delegation from East Sussex county council to discuss the Local Government Finance settlement for the county;
	(2)  which local authorities he met to discuss the local government funding formula (a) prior to and (b) since the announcement of the Local Government Finance settlement for 2003–04.

Nick Raynsford: Since the beginning of the Formula Grant Review consultation period on 8 July, the following local authorities, groups and associations have been met as part of stated consultation periods:
	Formula Grant Review Consultation (prior to the announcement of the provisional settlement on the 5 December)
	Association of North East Councils
	County Councils Network
	F40
	Northern Alliance
	SIGOMA
	Shire Districts Liaison Group
	Sutton
	Westminster City Council
	Worcestershire County Council
	Since the announcement of the Provisional Settlement on 5 December, the following authorities have been met:
	ALG
	Shire Unitaries
	Combined Fire Authorities
	Rural Services Partnership
	Shire Districts
	LGA
	SIGOMA
	Town and Country Finance Issues Group
	Shire Counties
	Greater Manchester Authorities
	South West Regional Assembly of the LGA
	South East Counties
	Barnet
	Bournemouth
	Bristol
	Brighton and Hove
	Bromley
	Cambridge
	Cumbria
	Derby
	Devon
	Dorset
	East Sussex
	Enfield
	Essex
	Forest Heath
	Gateshead
	Great Yarmouth
	Haringey
	Havering
	Hertfordshire
	Isle of Wight
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Kent
	Kettering
	Kingston upon Hull
	Lancashire
	Leicestershire
	Manchester
	Merton
	Middlesborough
	Northumberland
	Nottingham
	Poole
	Plymouth
	Preston city council
	Richmond upon Thames
	Rutland
	Salford
	Sheffield
	South Thanet
	South Somerset
	Rural Services Partnership
	Shire Districts
	LGA
	SIGOMA
	Town and Country Finance Issues Group
	Shire Counties
	Greater Manchester Authorities
	South West Regional Assembly of the LGA
	South East Counties
	Barnet
	Bournemouth
	Bristol
	Brighton and Hove
	Bromley
	Cambridge
	Cumbria
	Derby
	Devon
	Dorset
	East Sussex
	Enfield
	Essex
	Forest Heath
	Gateshead
	Great Yarmouth
	Haringey
	Havering
	Hertfordshire
	Isle of Wight
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Kent
	Kettering
	Kingston upon Hull
	Lancashire
	Leicestershire
	Manchester
	Merton
	Middlesborough
	Northumberland
	Nottingham
	Poole
	Plymouth
	Preston city council
	Richmond upon Thames
	Rutland
	Salford
	Sheffield
	South Thanet
	South Somerset
	Stafford
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Stratford on Avon
	Worcester
	No authorities have been met since the announcement of the Final Settlement on 5 February 2003 to discuss the local government funding formula.
	East Sussex met with the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche) on 14 January 2003 as part of the local government finance settlement consultation. There are currently no further plans to meet with them.

North West Regional Assembly

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the North West Regional Assembly's Sandings inquiry into the view of the public in the North West on elected regional government has received central Government funding.

Nick Raynsford: The North West Regional Assembly are not undertaking a soundings inquiry. As with other organisations in the region, the North West Regional Assembly has been invited to respond to the Government's soundings exercise. No specific funding has been provided for this purpose.

Parish Councillors

Nick Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what powers district monitoring officers have in respect of suspending parish councillors from their duties.

Christopher Leslie: Monitoring officers of district councils do not have any such powers, which under the Local Government Act 2000 lie with case tribunals formed by members of the Adjudication Panel, or may, by regulations be conferred on a council's standards committee.

Private Landlords

Lynne Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will publish the results of the consultation on selective licensing of private landlords.

Tony McNulty: As announced in the Queen's Speech, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister aims to publish a draft Housing Bill this session. The provisions in the Bill will include powers for local authorities to introduce the selective licensing of private sector landlords targeted primarily at areas of low housing demand. The nature of these proposed powers follows on from the consultation exercise in late 2001.
	The draft Bill will itself be subject to further public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.

Regional Government

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the role of existing regional assemblies in the Government's soundings exercise on the future of elected regional government; and what (a) guidance he has issued to and (b) requirements he has placed upon regional assemblies to maintain their impartiality in the exercise.

Nick Raynsford: On 2 December 2002, the Government issued a soundings paper inviting views, information and evidence on the level of interest in each region in holding a referendum about an elected assembly. This paper was sent to the eight regional chambers, as well as local authorities, MPs, MEPs and others in the English regions outside London.
	The soundings paper advises all respondents that the information they provide will be strengthened if they can demonstrate that they have consulted widely. The paper also makes it clear that opinion polls, in order to be considered by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, must have been conducted in a way likely to generate a fair and representative outcome.
	Regional chambers may use Government grant to develop their responses to the soundings exercise. But the funding agreements issued to the chambers or their accountable bodies make clear that Government grant cannot be used for political activities, such as campaigning for elected regional assemblies.

Right to Buy

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many tenants have used the Right to Buy scheme to purchase property in each local authority in each year since 1 May 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information collected relates to the number of dwellings sold under the Right to Buy legislation.
	Tables showing reported information on Right to Buy sales and other council house disposals by each local authority in England, along with national and regional summaries, for each year since 1979–80 are available in the Library of the House.

Sawmill Industrial Estate, Alnwick

Alan Beith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to determine the planning application in respect of a supermarket on the Sawmill Industrial Estate, Alnwick.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister received the Inspector's report in respect of a planning application for a supermarket in Alnwick on 7 January 2003. The application is on the Willis Garage site which is adjacent to the Sawmill Industrial Estate. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister aims to make a decision as soon as possible.

Unfair Terms Regulations

Bridget Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on how the DTLR publication Independent Tenant Advisers and Stock Transfers-A Good Practice Guide by Barbara Carlisle and Michael Wagstaff deals with the implications of the Unfair Terms Regulations 1999 for the independent tenant adviser; and what the cost was of this document.

Tony McNulty: Chapter 10 of the Independent Tenant Advisors and Stock Transfers good practice guidance provides guidance on how the Independent Tenant Advisor can work with the local authority to ensure tenants have the information they need about the proposed stock transfer and provide impartial advice on tenancy agreements, rent levels and future rent guarantees. However it does not make specific reference to the Unfair Terms Regulations 1999. The guide was produced as a free publication.

Unfair Terms Regulations

Bridget Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action has been taken by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to encourage all sections of the housing industry to comply with the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

Tony McNulty: The Director General of Fair Trading and a number of other regulators are responsible for the enforcement of these regulations. The Office of Fair Trading published guidance on unfair terms in tenancy agreements for the private rented sector in November 2001. All sections of the housing industry are advised to take full account of their guidance and the need to comply with the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations in their contractual arrangements with consumers.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms have been put in place to ensure the effective registration of livestock hauliers and the inspection of their operations in relation to the welfare of the livestock.

Elliot Morley: The Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997 (WATO), as amended, requires that any person transporting cattle, sheep, goats, pigs or horses on journeys of over eight hours by road, or by air, rail or sea must be specifically authorised. A specific authorisation is issued only after checks that the applicant is a fit and proper person to transport animals. A total of 947 specific authorisations have been issued in Great Britain to hauliers and other transporters since 1 October 1997. Full information about WATO is available on the internet at: www.defra.gov.uk
	Compliance by livestock hauliers with WATO is generally monitored by enforcement agents at livestock markets, ports and during roadside vehicle checks. We are currently piloting a new agreement for animal health and welfare with enforcement agencies, which is intended to provide more consistent and improved enforcement.
	For export journeys with farmed livestock, route plans showing the route and duration of the journey are checked before and after the journey for compliance with permitted maximum journey times and rest, feed and watering requirements. The European Commission are considering improvements to the monitoring of these rules and better communication between member states to ensure rapid reporting of problems.

Animal Welfare

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the reclassification of animals as sentient beings under European law and its implications for the welfare of animals.

Elliot Morley: In 1997 we successfully negotiated a Protocol to the Treaty of Rome that recognises animals as sentient beings. This requires the European Union and the member states to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals, in formulating and implementing the Community's agriculture, transport, internal market and research policies.

Animal Welfare

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Government are taking to end the use of (a) veal crates and (b) battery cages across Europe.

Elliot Morley: The Government are committed to improving animal welfare on an EU basis. EU Directive 99/74/EC bans the barren battery cage across Europe from 1 January 2012; Directive 97/2/EC bans veal crates in the EU from 31 December 2006.

Badgers

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many badger groups were relocated at (a) the cost of residents and (b) public expense in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: (a) One; and (b) None.

Badgers

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in what circumstances badgers can be removed from urban areas to prevent (a) danger to the badgers and (b) nuisance to householders; and what controls can be used to prevent badgers digging setts in residential areas.

Elliot Morley: Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 it is an offence to take a badger except in certain circumstances. For instance, a person is not guilty of an offence if he takes a badger that has been disabled otherwise than by his action for the purpose of tending the animal. The licensing provisions in the Act enable English Nature to grant a licence, among other things, to take a specified number of badgers for the purpose of conservation of badgers. In addition, the Act enables Defra to grant a licence to take a badger for the purpose, among other things, of preventing serious damage to property.
	Defra's Rural Development Service provides practical guidance on preventing problems arising from the presence of badgers in residential areas. Advice may be obtained from the National Wildlife Administration Unit, telephone number 0845 601 4523 (local rate). The RDS publishes a leaflet, "Badger Problems: Advice to Householders", available on request, or via the Department's web site.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what impact the 20 day livestock movement restrictions have had upon the control of the spread of bovine TB.

Elliot Morley: Any limitation on the movement of cattle, such as the 20 day livestock movement restrictions, reduces the opportunity for TB infection to be brought onto herds. However, limiting movement alone is not sufficient as a TB control measure. Defra has advised farmers that they must take responsibility for ensuring they are aware of the TB status of animals brought onto farms, and that they should buy only from herds with up-to-date TB tests.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the prospects for the development of a vaccine for bovine TB.

Elliot Morley: Over the last twelve months the Vaccine Scoping Study Sub-Committee of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) has met regularly to consider the feasibility for pursuing a TB vaccination strategy for cattle or wildlife, and to advise on future research requirements. A report to Ministers is expected in the spring.
	The ISG has cautioned that a TB vaccine is a potential policy option only in the longer term.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the Scientific Committee overseeing the Krebs Trials into the spread of bovine TB (a) to complete its field work and (b) to publish its findings.

Elliot Morley: The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) has advised that the work associated with the badger culling trial should be completed and reported during 2006. This is a three to four month extension following the suspension of field operations during the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. However, the ISG are reviewing the effect of the FMD outbreak on the badger culling trial, and expect to provide further advice to Ministers on the likely completion date in the spring of this year.

Electricity Charges

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes in unit payments for electricity have resulted from the switch by her Department to purchasing renewable energy which is exempt from the Climate Change Levy.

Elliot Morley: For the year 2001–02, the actual average price was 4.88 p/kWh for green energy purchased for the Defra Estate and 4.21 p/kWh for Defra Laboratories. Actual average price for normal electricity was 5.87 p/kWh and 4.16 p/kWh respectively. This shows that there was a reduction in the average price paid of 3.94 per cent. for the Defra Estate and an increase of 0.20 per cent. for Defra Laboratories.

Environmental Protection

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 31 January 2003, Official Report, column 1077W, on the Environment Agency, how many staff in each year were allocated to environmental protection matters; and how much of the budget in each year was allocated to environmental protection matters.

Michael Meacher: The Environment Agency's environmental protection function covers: water quality, waste regulation, integrated pollution control, integrated pollution prevention and control, radioactive substances regulation and land quality.
	The Agency took up its statutory duties on 1 April 1996. The allocation of staff and budgets to environmental protection as at the year ending 31 March was as follows:
	
		
			  Budget (£ million) Full-time equivalent staff 
		
		
			 1997 169.6 3,923 
			 1998 182.1 3,852 
			 1999 194.0 4,027 
			 2000 204.6 4,369 
			 2001 221.2 4,540 
			 2002 222.8 4,504 
			 2003 234.5 4,645(planned) 
		
	
	The staff figures are expressed as full-time equivalents. An allocation of full-and part-time costs according to function could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

European Water Directive

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on those aspects of the EU Water Framework Directive's Common Implementation Strategy Guidance which will be piloted in the UK;
	(2)  what resources will be made available to ensure that the UK pilot river basin study of the Ribble is (a) comprehensive and (b) fully compatible with the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive's common implementation strategy.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency has already confirmed that it will undertake a UK pilot river basin project on the Ribble to test out the CIS guidance on public participation. To date the Agency has committed a full-time project manager, operational staff in the North West Region and staff from its national Water Framework Directive Programme to help deliver the pilot river basin project. This work will inform and support subsequent implementation work the Agency will be required to carry out as "competent authority" for the Directive.

Fallen Stock (Burial Licences)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many licences have been issued in the last 12 months to enable farmers to bury fallen stock on their farms.

Elliot Morley: None. There are currently no requirements for farmers to obtain a licence to bury fallen stock on their farms.

Farm Animal Movement

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to end the 20-day standstill rule on movement of farm animals.

Elliot Morley: We announced in a Written Statement on 23 January that—subject to satisfactory further consultation with the livestock industry—we intend to reduce the standstill for cattle, sheep and goats to six days with effect from 4 March 2003. I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement of 23 January 2003, Official Report, columns 20–24WS.
	A supporting document explaining our decision has been placed in the Library and published on the Defra website.

Flooding

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she last met the chairman and chief executive of the Environment Agency concerning flooding; and when she next plans to do so.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets with the Environment Agency regularly to discuss a range of issues. The last time she met Sir John Harman and Baroness Young to discuss flooding was on 15 January 2003. I also hold meetings with the Environment Agency and flooding is discussed regularly. Our last meeting was held on 9 December 2002 and I am due to meet with them again on 6 March 2003.

Flooding

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many calls, broken down by constituency in Somerset, were received by the Environment Agency's (a) flooding hotline and (b) website in (i) December 2002 and (ii) January 2003.

Elliot Morley: It is not possible to provide the statistics requested broken down by constituency. The table below is an indication of the number of Floodline callers accessing the Recorded Message Service Boxes (areas) for the Somerset Region. Please note the callers may not necessarily have been calling from Somerset (i.e. people checking on holiday homes or about to visit the area from outside).
	As it is impossible to determine the geographical location within the UK of someone seeking information from a website, we cannot provide details of individual web users.
	
		
			 Area covered by individual Recorded Message Service Box Calls to recorded message service box in 
			  December 2002 January 2003 Total 
		
		
			 The Somerset Coast 62 92 154 
			 West Somerset Streams 36 81 117 
			 The rivers Isle and Parrett 36 108 144 
			 The rivers Yeo, Wriggle and Cam 55 146 201 
			 The rivers Somerset Frome, Mells, Whatley and Nunney Brooks 36 69 105 
			 The river Tone and Tributaries 51 300 351 
			 The rivers Axe, Brue, Congresbury Yeo and Sheppy 35 94 129 
			 The Somerset Moors 19 49 68

Flooding

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) calls the Environment Agency's flooding hotline received and (b) hits the Environment Agency's flooding website received from 25 December 2002 to 7 January 2003.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency's Floodline service received 121,663 calls, and there were 117,637 individual users on their Flood Warning website between 25 December 2002 and 6 January 2003. The Agency's website suffered problems in its service between 1–6 January. This was primarily because of the excessive load during that period and in spite of previous testing to ensure that flood incident loads could be met. A number of technical changes have now been carried out to improve the site's performance.
	
		Website/floodline call comparison—25 December 2002 to 7 January 20003
		
			 Date Individual usersof agency website Individual users of flood warning website Totalfloodline calls Recordedmessage service Answeredpersonally 
		
		
			 25 December 2002 638 302 236 230 6 
			 26 December 2002 1,510 770 702 673 29 
			 27 December 2002 2,324 1,128 994 899 95 
			 28 December 2002 1,745 841 768 702 66 
			 29 December 2002 4,192 3,000 4,101 3,735 366 
			 30 December 2002 14,383 11,906 13,753 12,193 1,560 
			 31 December 2002 16,646 14,581 9,957 8,891 1,066 
			 1 January 2003 15,246 12,514 19,968 17,881 2,087 
			 2 January 2003 32,654 23,350 32,603 28,644 3,959 
			 3 January 2003 30,847 14,861 14,666 12,573 2,093 
			 4 January 2003 8,795 8,795 8,507 6,915 1,592 
			 5 January 2003 8,286 8,286 7,748 6,396 1,352 
			 6 January 2003 16,414 12,581 5,455 4,465 990 
			 7 January 2003 12,234 4,722 2,205 1,886 319 
			 Total 165,914 117,637 121,663 106,083 15,580

Foot and Mouth

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the largest single amount of compensation paid out to a claimant for smoke damage to their property was as a result of foot and mouth disease disposal methods.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 6 February 2003
	The largest single amount of compensation paid out to a claimant for smoke damage as a result of foot and mouth disease disposal methods in England and Wales is £2,339.

Foot and Mouth

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people have received compensation for smoke damage as a result of foot and mouth disease disposal methods in England and Wales.

Elliot Morley: There have been payments made to 15 claimants for smoke damage as a result of foot and mouth disease disposal methods in England and Wales.

Forest Enterprise South West

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what grants are available to Forest Enterprise South West to put their forestry plans on the internet for local public consultation.

Elliot Morley: Forest Enterprise does not publish its forest design plans on the internet. However, the Forestry Commission maintains a "Register of New Planting and Felling", which it publishes on its website http://www.forestry.gov.uk/consultations. The register gives information on new planting and felling applications received from private woodland owners and information about Forest Enterprise design plans.

Indoor Air Pollution

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has undertaken on sources of indoor air pollution.

Alun Michael: The Department has no responsibilities for the sources of air pollutants within buildings and has therefore not undertaken any research on this topic.

Internal Drainage Boards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of how internal drainage boards are exercising their duty under the Land Drainage Act 1994 to further the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty and the conservation of flora, fauna and geological or physiographical features of special interest.

Elliot Morley: The Government currently assess the conservation performance of Internal Drainage Boards in a number of ways.
	Firstly, each flood and coastal defence scheme currently submitted by an Internal Drainage Board (IDE) for Defra grant-aid is assessed not only for its economic and technical robustness, but also its environmental compliance. To assist in making a judgment on the acceptability of each submission, English Nature is asked for an opinion on the environmental compliance of all grant applications that are processed. The improved access to in-house conservation advice that several IDB consortia now have is a welcome step that is improving the ability to take advantage of the environmental opportunities presented by many flood management schemes.
	Secondly, High Level Targets 9 and 10, which are set for all operating authorities, relate to conservation of the environment.
	In addition to meeting statutory obligations when carrying out flood and coastal defence works, HLT 9 requires that IDBs must aim to avoid damage to environmental interest; ensure there is no net loss to habitats covered by Biodiversity Action Plans; and seek opportunities for environmental enhancement. IDBs are required to report annually to the Environment Agency on all losses and gains of habitats covered by Biodiversity Action Plans. The last report to be published by Defra was on 24 May 2002. I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North ( Mr. Hopkins), on 24 May 2002, Official Report, columns 641–42W.
	High Level Target 10 relates specifically to Water Level Management Plans (WLMPs), which are required for wetlands of recognised importance for nature conservation. The target was revised in January 2001 so that each operating authority, including all IDBs, must provide to Defra and the Environment Agency:
	a definite timetable for completing any outstanding WLMPs;
	and an outline timetable for preparing a programme for implementing and reviewing WLMPs.
	In addition, each operating authority must have in place a detailed programme for implementing and reviewing WLMPs for European sites and Ramsar sites by 1 April 2002 and other SSSIs by 1 April 2003.
	In line with these revisions, all operating authorities are required to make an annual report to Defra of their progress in implementing and reviewing WLMPs against their published programme. The last report to be published by Defra was in August 2002. I refer the hon. Member to the my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Mr. Bryant) on 29 October 2002, Official Report, columns 732–33W.
	As the majority of WLMPs have now been written, the emphasis has now moved to implementation and it is pleasing to report that one of the largest applications for grant-aid to implement WLMP actions was made on behalf of an IDB consortia.
	While it must be recognised that IDBs primarily provide a local land drainage service, it is also recognised that there is room for improving their environmental performance. Further steps to address this are one of the aspects under consideration in the Flood and Coastal Defence Funding Review, on which I will shortly be making a statement.

Landfill Sites

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many landfill operators have submitted a conditioning plan to the Environmental Agency; and how many have applied to be classed as (a) hazardous, (b) non-hazardous and (c) inert.

Michael Meacher: Information from the Environment Agency's conditioning plan exercise, covering England and Wales, is as follows:
	
		
			 Region Non-hazardous Inert Hazardous (post 2002) Hazardous (post 2004) 
		
		
			 Anglian 43 60 47 9 
			 Midlands 50 74 42 4 
			 North East 89 58 39 11 
			 North West 49 37 27 8 
			 South West 39 46 16 1 
			 Southern 30 35 13 1 
			 Thames 31 49 19 0 
			 Wales 23 30 15 3 
			 Total 311 329 218 37

Market Towns Initiative

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding has been given to the Bury St. Edmunds constituency under the market towns initiative.

Alun Michael: None. Bury St. Edmunds itself is considerably above the 25,000 population size limit set for inclusion in the Market Towns Initiative, and none of the other towns in the Bury St. Edmunds constituency is currently included.

Mercury Contamination

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on mercury emissions from UK power stations.

Alun Michael: The following table shows total estimated UK emissions of mercury from all sources up to 2001 (the latest date for which figures are available). The estimated emission of mercury to air from UK power generation in 2001 was 1.65 tonnes, representing 19 per cent. of total UK mercury emissions. Total emissions have fallen by 72 per cent. (from 31.6 tonnes to 8.8 tonnes) since 1990. Mercury emissions from power stations have fallen by 80 per cent. (from 8.36 tonnes to 1.65 tonnes), over the same period.
	
		UK emissions of mercury by UN/ECE Category (tonnes)
		
			  1970 1980 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2001 % 
		
		
			 Comb. in energy prod  
			 Public power 7.47 8.10 8.36 8.26 7.93 4.98 4.88 4.47 2.91 2.98 2.72 1.68 1.61 1.65 19% 
			 Petroleum refining 0.09 0.09 0.06 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.05 1% 
			 Other comb and trans. 0.49 0.17 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0% 
			   
			 Comb. in comm/inst/res  
			 Comm/inst 2.28 0.90 0.95 0.94 0.81 0.43 0.36 0.26 0.28 0.31 0.19 0.17 0.14 0.15 2% 
			 Residential plant 3.93 1.93 1.04 1.16 1.00 1.15 1.01 0.75 0.77 0.66 0.60 0.60 0.53 0.59 7% 
			 Agriculture/forestry/aquaculture 0.06 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0% 
			   
			 Combustion in industry  
			 Iron and steel comb 1.09 0.46 0.58 0.54 0.55 0.54 0.55 0.56 0.58 0.58 0.58 0.56 0.52 0.49 6% 
			 Industry-non-ferrous metals 4.02 2.47 2.88 2.98 2.94 3.12 2.92 2.92 2.30 1.95 1.37 0.32 0.78 0.74 8% 
			 Other ind. comb 5.64 2.34 2.17 2.20 2.45 2.31 2.25 2.11 1.90 1.82 1.70 1.40 0.99 1.30 15% 
			   
			 Production processes  
			 Iron and steel 0.56 0.30 0.44 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.42 0.44 0.44 0.45 0.42 0.44 0.51 0.28 3% 
			 Non ferrous metals 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0% 
			 Processes in industry 11.27 10.24 8.09 8.89 7.43 3.29 3.60 4.21 2.40 1.14 1.31 1.50 1.44 1.48 17% 
			 Road transport 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0% 
			 Other trans/mach 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0% 
			   
			 Waste  
			 Waste-incineration 7.36 7.58 6.41 6.38 6.21 3.16 2.94 2.82 2.39 1.77 1.81 1.84 1.82 1.68 19% 
			 Landfill 0.59 0.59 0.59 0.56 0.52 0.48 0.45 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.40 0.40 0.39 0.39 4% 
			 Total 44.90 35.20 31.60 32.40 30.30 20.00 19.50 19.00 14.50 12.20 11.20 9.00 8.80 8.80 100% 
		
	
	Source:National Atmospheric Emissions Inventor

Mercury Contamination

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the environmental impact of mercury emissions from UK power stations.

Alun Michael: Mercury emissions from UK power stations have fallen by some 80 per cent. (from 8.36 tonnes/annum to 1.65 tonnes/annum) since 1990.
	The Environment Agency carried out dispersion modelling of the impact of mercury emissions from UK power stations in 1996. The impact as a result of the concentrations attributed to the power stations was found to be insignificant. The Environment Agency will however keep the question of emissions under review as alternative fuel sources became available/viable.

Mercury Contamination

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the accepted maximum levels of mercury in the environment are.

Alun Michael: There is no acceptable maximum level of mercury in the environment. To protect against direct human inhalation, the World Health Organisation (WHO), recommends a guideline level of 1 microgramme per cubic metre for inorganic mercury vapour in air. However due to the fact that mercury has been shown to bioaccumulate in its toxic, methylated form in the environment, particularly in the aquatic food chain, the WHO recommends that ambient levels of mercury in air should be kept as low as possible.
	Environmental quality standards (EQSs) for mercury in the aquatic environment are set out in List I of the Dangerous Substances Directive (DSD) (76/464/EEC) and the Surface Water (Dangerous Substances) (Classification) Regulations (1989) as 1 nanogramme per litre for freshwater and 0.3 nanogrammes per litre for saltwater. Mercury discharges are also covered by daughter directives of the DSD (82/176/EEC and 84/156/EEC).

Mercury Contamination

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which UK rivers or lakes are tested for contamination with mercury; and what the results of these surveys were in the last year for which information is available.

Elliot Morley: This information is not held centrally and will have to be collated by the Environment Agency. The Agency has advised that it should be able to provide a comprehensive answer during March. I will arrange for the information to be placed in the Library of the House, and will notify the hon. Member when it is available.

Pig Industry

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total Government marketing funding for the pig industry was in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03.

Elliot Morley: While it is not Government policy to provide marketing funding for the pig industry, in 2000–01 a one-off payment of £2.65 million was made to the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) to help them advertise the "pork mark". This was a campaign to promote welfare friendly pork. No further payments were made in 2001–02 and 2002–03. Livestock and meat marketing, including the pig industry, is one of the functions of the MLC, established by the Agriculture Act 1967. The MLC has the general duty of promoting greater efficiency in the livestock products industry.

Responsible Pet Ownership

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the development of dog registration and education programmes for responsible pet ownership.

Elliot Morley: At present Defra has no funds available to implement the recommendations set out in the Dog Identification Group's "Report on the Permanent Identification of Dogs". However, the Government produce guidance, and encourage responsible dog ownership through leaflets. Information can be found on the Defra website.
	The legislation relating to the welfare of captive and domestic animals is currently under review. As part of the review, I am looking to see how responsible pet ownership can be improved so that vendors, buyers and those who are considering buying pet animals are informed about the welfare needs of the animal.

Sudden Oak Death

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is her policy to compensate nursery businesses in respect of viburnum and rhododendron stock destroyed to control the spread of the sudden oak death fungal pathogen phytophthora ramorum.

Michael Meacher: Compensation is not generally paid for destruction of plants in order to prevent or control the spread of plant pests or diseases. The Plant Health Act 1967 gives a discretion to pay compensation. A claim has recently been made by a grower in respect of action against plants infected with Phytophthora ramorum (the pathogen which is causing Sudden Oak Death in the United States of America). No final decision has been made on this claim. A case is currently before the European Court of Justice on the question of compensation for the destruction of diseased fish. The outcome of that case will be taken into account in reaching a final determination on the issue of compensation.

Sudden Oak Death

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at how many nurseries, broken down by county, viburnum and rhododendron stock has been destroyed to combat the sudden oak death fungal pathogen phytophthora ramorum.

Michael Meacher: The table below provides the information requested for England and Wales. Action has also been taken in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Isles.
	
		Nurseries in England and Wales affected by Phytophthora ramorum
		
			 County Number 
		
		
			 Berkshire 2 
			 Bridgend 1 
			 Buckinghamshire 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 3 
			 Cheshire 14 
			 Conwy 1 
			 Cumbria 1 
			 Derbyshire 4 
			 Dorset 6 
			 East Sussex 2 
			 East Yorkshire 1 
			 Essex 1 
			 Gloucestershire 5 
			 Greater London 3 
			 Greater Manchester 4 
			 Gwynedd 3 
			 Hampshire 10 
			 Hereford 1 
			 Kent 3 
			 Lancashire 8 
			 Leicestershire 1 
			 Lincolnshire 3 
			 Monmouthshire 1 
			 Norfolk 3 
			 North Yorkshire 5 
			 Northamptonshire 2 
			 Northumberland 1 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 
			 Oxfordshire 1 
			 Pembrokeshire 2 
			 Powys 3 
			 Shropshire 4 
			 Somerset 2 
			 South Yorkshire 2 
			 Staffordshire 2 
			 Suffolk 2 
			 Surrey 12 
			 Warwickshire 1 
			 West Midlands 1 
			 West Sussex 15 
			 West Yorkshire 2 
			 Wiltshire 1 
			 Wirral 1 
			 Worcestershire 3 
			 Total 148

Sudden Oak Death

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she is taking to combat the spread of the sudden oak death (phytophthora ramorum); and if she will make a statement.

Michael Meacher: Defra's Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate (PHSI) are continuing to survey nurseries and garden centres for symptoms of the disease and are examining established plants and trees in areas close to nurseries and garden centres in which the disease has been found. Substantial resources have been diverted into this work and the associated research programme. Plants moved from other member states or imported from third countries are being monitored to ensure that they meet movement requirements and are not carrying the disease. Any plants found to have the disease are destroyed. The devolved authorities and the Forestry Commission are taking similar action. Research is underway at the Central Science Laboratory and at the Forest Research Agency to assess the risk presented by this disease to a wide range of plants, in particular our native tree species and other native plants. The findings of this research will be used to update the Pest Risk Assessment in order to keep under review the precautionary actions being taken against the spread of this disease.

Waste Directive

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Department has responsibility for the transposition of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive into UK law.

Brian Wilson: I have been asked to reply.
	DTI was the lead Department for the negotiations on this Directive and has now started to take forward transposition in close association with DEFRA and other parts of Government.

Waste Disposal

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional funding has been made available to the Environment Agency to enable it to (a) detect and (b) prosecute the (i) disposal and (ii) treatment of waste without a licence.

Michael Meacher: No specific funds have been made available to detect and prosecute the disposal and treatment of waste without a waste management licence. The Department issues the Agency with a block grant for its environmental protection work (£121 million in 2002–03). It is for the Agency to decide how to prioritise work and expenditure within this, in discussion with the Department. Waste receives the second largest share of Grant In Aid funding.

Waste Disposal

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions by the Environment Agency of waste offences involving disposing or treating of waste without a licence there were in each year since 1997.

Michael Meacher: The Environment Agency keeps records of breaches to section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The figures in the table show the total incidents of illegally depositing controlled waste on land. The figure for January 2001 to December 2001 shows incidents involving fly tipping only.
	Figures are recorded on a financial year basis. In respect of calendar year 2001, Environment Agency records are more precise and the number represents the offenders prosecuted for the section 33(1)(a) offence of unlawfully depositing waste.
	
		
			  Number of breaches 
		
		
			 1996–97 241 
			 1997–98 345 
			 1998–99 367 
			 1999–2000 342 
			 2000–01 439 
			 January to December 2001 234 
		
	
	The number of prosecutions by the Agency of offences committed under section 33(1)(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for illegally treating controlled waste have only been recorded since 1999. The figures in the following table represent the three complete financial years since then:
	
		
			  Number of prosecutions 
		
		
			 1999–2000 37 
			 2000–01 61 
			 2001–02 90

Water Framework Directive

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the role which Internal Drainage Boards will play in delivering the environmental objectives of the EC Water Framework Directive.

Elliot Morley: The functions of Internal Drainage Boards, including in relation to management of water levels in watercourses and flood defence, may be relevant to meeting the objectives of the Water Framework Directive.
	The Government have proposed that the Environment Agency, in its role as competent authority, will given a duty to consult relevant bodies when preparing River Basin Management Plans. In order for the Secretary of State to be sure that the influence of other bodies with relevant functions are fully reflected in the measures and plans, statutory guidance to the Agency will also set out which bodies will need to be involved, and which functions need to be taken into account.
	In river basins where Internal Drainage Boards operate, therefore, Boards will be consulted and their functions taken into account in order to achieve the environmental objectives set within each district.

Whales

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's policies on commercial whaling and the proposal for a Southern Ocean whale sanctuary.

Elliot Morley: The Government are strongly opposed to all whaling other than subsistence whaling by indigenous people. They fully support the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on commercial whaling and works within the IWC to maintain this.
	The Government support the maintenance of existing whale sanctuaries in the Southern and Indian Oceans and has cosponsored proposals made by others for the creation of new sanctuaries in the South Pacific and South Atlantic.

Woodland Grant Scheme

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the expenditure in England of the Woodland Grant Scheme was in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002 calendar years.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 10 February 2003
	The expenditure on all the activities grant aided under the Forestry Commission's Woodland Grant Scheme was as follows:
	
		
			 Year Total grants (£) 
		
		
			 2000 17,215,133 
			 2001 16,517,760 
			 2002 18,042,494

Woodland Grant Scheme

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received concerning the introduction of a single closing date for the next round of the Woodland Grant Scheme for new planting.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 10 February 2003
	I have received one representation and this expressed concern about the introduction of a single closing date for new planting applications as announced by the Forestry Commission on 16 December 2002.

Woodland Grant Scheme

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of applications for the Woodland Grant Scheme for new planting in each of the last three years were from private landowners who had no previous experience of woodland planting.

Elliot Morley: Previous experience is not a criterion for grant-aid. This information is not, therefore, routinely collected and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.

Woodland Grant Scheme

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what difficulties were experienced by (a) the Forestry Commission and (b) DEFRA staff with the two closing dates per year for the Woodland Grant Scheme, in each year since 2000.

Elliot Morley: The Forestry Commission has found that any delays to the processing of grant applications made late in the year could result in applications not being approved in time for implementation during the current planting season. These delays can be for a number of reasons, including the resolution of issues between the Commission and the applicant and resolving items raised during the consultation process. Defra do not process the Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS), but process the associated Farm Woodland Premium Scheme (FWPS). Therefore any delays to a WGS application which has a parallel FWPS application can have a knock on effect within Defra.

Woodland Grant Scheme

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the difficulties with the 31 October deadline were for applicants for the Woodland Grant Scheme referred to by the Forestry Commission in its circular to interested parties dated 16th December 2002.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 10 February 2003
	Where there are delays in processing applications submitted late in the year, applicants may receive approval too late in the planting season to undertake the agreed work. A delay may be caused where applications are incomplete or require modification to meet the rules and standards of the Woodland Grant Scheme. Any objections arising from the consultation process have to be resolved, which can also add to the processing time.

Woodland Grant Scheme

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applicants there were for the Woodland Grant Scheme round for which the closing date was 31 October 2002.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 10 February 2003
	633 applications for new planting were received for the 31 October 2002 closing date.